The Veterans
by terrycotta50
Summary: Amanda Young, Eric Matthews, Lieutenant Rigg, Art Blanc and Detective Hoffman have spent months, even years, involved with the Jigsaw Killings. Now that he’s dead the five start to move on but it isn’t easy. AU. Post-Saw IV. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything Saw.

**A/N: **This is a spin-off to Amanda's Last Stand. It's not really a sequel or related. It just takes the same concept in a different direction. I plan to put this up chapter by chapter as I finish them or one every week. Also, since Det. Hoffman hasn't been given an official first name I will refer to him as David when he is mentioned by first name but I will usually use Hoffman.

**The Veterans**

**Chapter 1**

Rigg paced outside the door looking at the dirty glass that said "Final Test." He knew Eric was inside the room and he had to get him out. His mind raced over the events tricking him about what he should do. He saved the pimp but she tried to kill him. He gave no mercy to the rapist and he died. He looked into the eyes of a horrified woman who had clearly been through hell then turned away leaving her to be found by the police. Each time Jigsaw tried to enforce his values "Save as I Save", "Feel what I Feel" but Rigg couldn't decide exactly what that was.

He looked back in the room. Eric was thrashing within his hold while another man was strapped on to a chair and yet another held on to a remote.

_10…9…8…7…_

Rigg's wife told him he couldn't save everyone. She was right. He waited.

_5...4...3...2…_

But he also knew he should leave a man down.

_1!_

Rigg was about to charge into the door but a loud buzz filled the halls. He was petrified. _What did I just do?_

Inside the room Art hit the button releasing the three of them. The sounds of motors whirring down echoed throughout the room. Art pulled the device off his neck while Eric screamed, "What just happened? What just happened?"

"We were just let go." Art yelled back as he went over to undo the chain noose on Eric.

Hoffman spit out the gag. Out of breath he said, "Congratulations. You've won your game." He struggled out of his bindings and let himself off the scale unknowingly tipping Art and Eric, who had just gotten out of the noose, off the scale. He walked to the door and let Rigg in.

Instantly Rigg pointed the gun at Hoffman. "What the hell's going on here, David?"

"You've passed your test, Congratulations." Hoffman looked back at Art and Eric. Eric had pretty much passed out on the floor and Art was trying to wake him. "Stay with them. I'll call a bus for you but I have other things to check on."

Rigg stepped in front of him. "That's it?! You put us through this shit and the only thing you can say is 'Congratulations. I have other business.' I let Jigsaw fall through the cracks but you're not leaving. You're gonna stay here and tell us what's going on."

Hoffman sighed. "You're a real piece of work. I already said you passed your test and you're free to go. But if I don't leave you'll put a little girl's life in danger."

Rigg hesitated then said. "We come with you." Hoffman nodded then started to walk away.

In the sick room Amanda sat alone in the carnage of what she had just done. She shot Lynn then Jeff ran in and tried to shoot her but the bullet missed instead piercing Jigsaw's chest. Quickly she shot Jeff in the head. John only managed a quick soliloquy about wishing he hadn't failed her then saying that Hoffman should come to help her soon. Afterwards Peter Strahm burst in commanding her to put her gun down but he got caught in the blast of Lynn shotgun collar. His leg was wounded but he had hit the floor hard enough to knock him unconscious.

Amanda was too shocked to move. She knew Hoffman was in a test of his own risking his life and she deiced if he didn't come in 5 minutes she would leave on her own. She would disappear from the city, from the public eye. Word was out that she was involved with Jigsaw and if she disappeared, people would forget. They wouldn't know who she was after a while and she could return to life again, maybe even a better life.

Amanda was shaken out of her sense of shock when the door was pulled open with a loud creak. She grabbed her gun, scrambled back and pointed it at the door. Hoffman walked in the room. He told Art, Rigg and Eric to stay out view. Hoffman looked around the room and nudged at Strahm with his foot. He waited for him to take a breath then looked to Lynn. "That collar actually worked." He remarked.

"Yeah." Amanda answered in a low voice. Hoffman pulled her up to her feet. "You call someone?"

"Not yet. I got to get that girl out. Then I'll call." Hoffman looked at John. "Don't tell me you shot him."

"No! Never! Jeff did. I shot Lynn and Jeff. Strahm came in and Lynn's collar went off." Amanda explained.

Impatiently, Rigg walked in to check what was going on and took Eric in with him. He stopped and looked around. In his years as a SWAT officer, especially during the Jigsaw Killings, he had never seen so many dead in one room. He was about to run out after seeing Lynn's destroyed head but noticed Amanda pointing her gun in his direction. He was about to say he didn't do anything to her then saw she was aiming at Eric, not him.

"I thought he was dead." Amanda yelled.

"We saved him for Rigg's game." Hoffman walked closer to Amanda and tried to pull away her gun but she pushed him off.

"He failed his test! He should have stayed chained up to that pipe! He should have died in the hall. He doesn't deserve his life."

"Eric went out of his way to prove he deserves his life. Of every subject we've come across he's shown the most will to survive." Hoffman looked back at Eric then whispered to Amanda. "You should have seen him. Even after he had given up, he still was ready to fight for his life. Maybe you can learn something form him."

Hoffman pulled away Amanda's gun. "We're wasting time here. We have to get Corbett and leave." Hoffman led them through the maze of hallways of the factory. They eventually reached a door at the end of the hallway. Hoffman pulled a key from his pocket and opened the door. Inside Corbett was lying face down on the mattress.

Hoffman kneeled down next to Corbett. "Hey, Corbett. Wake up. I'm going take you home now. Corbett?" He nudged her shoulder. She continued to lay still. He turned her over and saw her lips started to turn blue. "She's not breathing! Rigg call an ambulance now!" Hoffman tossed Rigg his cell phone and simultaneously Eric collapsed. Art went down to Eric putting his hand on Eric's forehead. "He's burning up. Tell that ambulance to hurry up! We got a kid and an officer down."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The entire SWAT team and several ambulances pulled up to the factory. The SWAT team broke in and scoured the building. Not too far in they found the group. Five of the SWAT members accompanied them out and the rest moved to search the building. When they walked out Eric was moved into an ambulance. Hoffman carried Corbett to another ambulance. Hoffman got on the ambulance after Corbett. "I'm coming with her."

The paramedic nodded, "Fine. You know how she got this way?"

"Asphyxiation. She was being held in a small closed off room."

"Where are her parents?"

"Dead."

Rigg and Art stood outside being questioned by police. They watched as the bodies of Jeff, Lynn and John were brought out to ambulances. Strahm was rushed out with a paramedic holding a compress to his left leg. When the police offered them a ride to the hospital to be checked out Rigg realized Amanda was missing. "Hey, did you see Amanda leave?"

"Who?" Art replied.

"Amanda. The woman who was with us. She's Jigsaw's helper."

"She was following Hoffman, last time I checked. Do you think she got in with Eric?"

"No. I saw Eric off. She's probably in the building. I'm gonna look for her."

"That building's a crime scene now. SWAT will find her. If not someone off the street will." Art shrugged, "You need to take a break. Come on." Rigg followed him in the car. He looked back at the building as they rode hoping to see Amanda hiding in a corner somewhere.

Everyone was checked out as soon as they got to the hospital. Corbett was admitted in the pediatric ward for mild oxygen deprivation. Eric on the other hand was treated like as a special case. He first was medicated for all diseases he may have contracted from being exposed to dead rats and whatever else may have carried diseases. He was then given IVs for malnutrition and dehydration. After being sedated, the trauma surgeons began evaluating his foot.

In another part of the building Hoffman was waiting to be cleared to see Corbett. He looked up at a woman who was wear sunglasses and had a hood over her head. She carried a bag at her side and sat down next to the detective. Hoffman noticed the woman staring at him and took another look. He looked at her boots and pants then realized it was Amanda. Hoffman hid his shock. He was told Amanda had disappeared. Trying to be discreet he looked away and whispered, "What are you doing here?"

Amanda followed suit turning her head a different direction and covering her mouth, "I had nowhere to go."

"So you figure that a hospital swarming with police trying to get information on John is the best place to be? Not one of your smarter ideas."

"Well, I hope you aren't expecting applause on the 'keep a little girl in a room running out of oxygen' idea. That wasn't too good either."

"I know. They said she'll be fine by morning. She wasn't out too long."

"What about John and Lynn and the other two?"

"I haven't heard about Agent Strahm. But you and I know both know John, Lynn and Jeff died."

"Did they even try save John?" Amanda cried. She turned her head to the ground and wiped at her eyes. "He could have been in shock or unconscious. He didn't have to die."

Hoffman sighed. He understood Amanda's close attachment to John as a father. He knew that her father was abusive and John replaced him like a foster parent. Hoffman also had a bond with John but it wasn't nearly as strong as Amanda's bond to him. Hoffman continued giving Amanda the bare facts about John's death. He figured that if he lied that Amanda would be angrier when she found out the truth and she wasn't one that need to be angered. "He was cold when they got to him. The bullet ripped through his lung and heart. There was no chance. Even if he made it to the hospital there was nothing they could do. CPR wouldn't have helped and the paddles would have made it worse. There doing an autopsy on him now. We can see him afterwards to pay our respects."

Amanda looked at him. "You're just as cold as he is." She gasped as a hand hit her shoulder and she looked back.

A security officer stood behind her. He had a stare in his eye that reminded her of the stare Eric gave her before he had arrested her. A stare of victory and triumph mixed with no remorse of possibly taking apart someone's life. "Ma'am, I need off your hood and your glasses."

"Any specific reason why?" Amanda said.

"Security reasons. We get a lot of junkies and criminals trying to get free meds. It's a simple precaution." Amanda nodded. She turned around and waited for the guards hand to let off. Once he did she grabbed her hood. She waited a second then bolted out of the room. The security guard ran after her pushing people out of the way. Amanda closed in on the main entrance but was stopped short after being grabbed at the waist. "You're under arrest." The guard tried to grab her arm and she sung at him with a punch that sent him flying. Amanda started to run but was pulled back by Hoffman who had followed her from the waiting room.

"Don't worry." Hoffman whispered. In his normal tone, he again told Amanda she was under arrest specifically for assaulting the police officer. He handcuffed her also showing his badge to a suspicious cop. Amanda reminded him about her hood and glasses which got her there in the first place. Astonishment filled the room when Amanda's identity was revealed. Spectators gasped and their eyes widened as they collectively realized they were witnessing the arrest of a notorious murder's accomplice. Hoffman stated merely for show, "Amanda Young you're under arrest for the murders of Allison Kerry and Troy Marcus as well as being an accessory to over a dozen other murders." Afterwards Hoffman told Amanda not to speak a word, not even her name until a lawyer was present. He handed her off to the other cop in the room. He walked away from the commotion silently. At the moment he felt there were more important things to tend to.

Corbett was only eight years old. She still was a sweet, innocent girl. She had a lot of friends. She played soccer. She made good grades. She was supposed to be living the easiest part of her life but it was slowly and surely turning in to the worst of it. Her brother had died a few years back forever splitting her family. Now in one night she lost both of her parents. She wasn't the first child to be used for one of Jigsaw's tests but she was treated the worst.

Hoffman sat next to her bed watching her. He couldn't help hating himself for not stopping John from including Corbett in his games. He held the girl's hand thinking that it could in some way help her. A woman came in the room without Hoffman noticing.

"Are you her guardian?" She asked.

"No. I'm just watching her." Hoffman replied. He saw the woman give a puzzled look and he clarified, "I'm a police officer. My name's Detective David Hoffman."

"Maria Smith. Social Services. Do you know who I should talk to about Corbett's situation?"

"Me. No actual relatives or contacts turned up. There were a few willing to adopt her though. I was waiting for someone to tell me what was going on. Didn't expect to see you so soon actually."

"Well, we knew it was a difficult situation and wanted to get things in order. We tried to find close relatives that could take her in but so far we only have a grandfather with Alzheimer's in a nursing home and an aunt and uncle in Minnesota."

"That's it?" Hoffman asked.

Maria was flustered. "We're still looking. It's possible there's a family friend or godparent that simply got overlooked."

"I don't want anyone overlooked. Keep searching until you find someone who can take her by tomorrow." Hoffman ordered. Maria moved out of the room obediently.

Corbett started to move around in her bed. Hoffman looked to her. Her eyes were still closed. She moved again then opened her eyes. "David?" She groaned, "Where's my mommy?"

Rigg came in Eric's room. Eric was lying unconscious on the bed. His hair was still long and shaggy as was his beard. The crude leg brace was lying under his bed. Rigg picked it up examining it. It was feat of makeshift engineering, composed almost entirely out of scrap metal and leather belts.

"John made it."

Rigg turned around dropping the brace and almost falling on Eric. Amanda was lounging in a chair. Rigg stepped toward the door. He looked around anxiously to check for anything that could be set up as a trap. Amanda smiled at him. She walked to Rigg making him back in to the door. Amanda picked the brace up and showed it like a trophy. "Yeah, even on his deathbed John couldn't resist the call of his workbench. It was the nature of his work so traps would vary. It would have been too easy to just let a trap be reused until someone go out. This brace was ingenious. Scared?"

Rigg had pushed him self so tight against the door it was about to give. Amanda wasn't standing within ten feet of him and he was still sweating and shaking. He tried to ease up. It put an edge on him so he wouldn't be so weak he couldn't attack if necessary. "What are you doing here anyway? You were arrested."

"I didn't talk. There was enough evidence. Plus David bailed me out. They had no reason to hold on to me."

"David? So you and Hoffman are on a first name basis now? I guess it would work. Live together, kill together. Bailing each other out and running away isn't too far off."

"We aren't that close, Lieutenant. You are turning him in, right?"

"Only if I see more traps while you're rotting away in jail."

Amanda scoffed. "You really think I'm going to jail. I can make any lawyer or cop play my games. I can put fear in anyone." Amanda looked at Rigg to add weight to her claim. "Especially, if I put fear in you."

"Juries decide cases not cops." Rigg said. "Any real educated jury won't let you escape. We have enough to put you with the crimes. Also, you disappeared for two years. How can you explain that?"

"If you were nearly killed, had record and were enticed into your killer's games you'd want to disappear to. You'd want nothing to do with your old life and wish that you can be gone until you're missed. Then maybe take pity from friends and turn your life around. Either way you still don't have a motive. If you don't have a motive you can't prove I had anything to do with it. One more thing, the guy who was knocked out, Strahm? How's he?"

Rigg looked at her quizzically. Amanda's expression was serious and he answered out of fright, "He's in a coma. Severe head trauma. They said is leg was blown and they needed to amputate it."

"Amputate? I didn't think the blast out side of it would be that big. I mean, Lynn's head was blown off but a leg? I'm actually a little impressed. Ironic though. Poor Strahm lost his leg in an unintentional blast. Eric on the other hand. His foot's going to be fine. He may even be able to walk again as long as he uses a cane."

Rigg looked over at Eric. His foot was placed in a professional brace to keep it together. Amanda handed Rigg the old brace. "Only Eric's ankle was severely broken. The nerves, muscles and blood vessels were actually in a repairable state. If it wasn't for that brace, his ankle wouldn't have healed to well. Nothing John made was meant to purposely take a life. He wanted to give people second chances. Eric's second chance required his foot."

Rigg couldn't believe it. He never considered Jigsaw to be heartfelt or sympathetic. He thought Jigsaw made Amanda kill Kerry. He thought Jigsaw was just a sick, old bastard that needed to be put away. Rigg didn't think about the second chances just the death. Amanda, herself was given a second chance; she could have died of a drug overdose if she wasn't tested. He wasn't close to accepting Jigsaw as a savior or accept Amanda at all but at least he could live with the fact he let Eric live.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

It was almost ten when Amanda woke up. She had fallen into a deep sleep despite being curled up in a chair. She stretched out and looked to the chair next to her. Rigg had also stayed the night with her just in case Eric woke. He was still in his dirty, sweaty shirt. He tried to lie down across the chair but didn't seem any bit comfortable. Amanda then looked at Eric.

The former detective had some how managed to contort himself to lay flat on his stomach without moving his damaged leg or ripping any IVs or wires. The vitals monitor was lying on top of him which apparently didn't seem to ruin his sleep at all. Amanda remembered once when she found John in a similar position trying to pick a fallen candle off the side of his bed. Her nursing instincts kicked in and she went to work pulling Eric on to his back. He was heavy for an emaciated man making flipping him harder than expected. She watched the door and took out the IV so it wouldn't get any lethal bubbles in it. After rolling Eric over she stuck the IV back in Eric's arm. He screamed and woke up Rigg.

"What are you doing to him?" Rigg asked franticly. He went over to Eric and pushed Amanda away.

"I was turning him over. His IV and monitor would have ripped out." Amanda replied. "I was trying to help him."

"He doesn't need your help. That's why I'm here."

"Rigg…" Eric groaned, "Let it go. She didn't know any better, alright?"

Rigg was enraged. "She didn't know any better? Of course she knew better! She's a fuckin' murderer! She killed…" Rigg stopped. He was going to say Kerry but Eric didn't know that his former mistress was dead. It wouldn't be right for him to find out this way.

But Rigg also was surprised. There was emptiness in Eric's eyes. Instead of the unique, familiar rage that Rigg was used to seeing, Eric's eyes were like black holes. He seemed to see and understand everything that was going on but the events didn't register they just disappeared. Nothing seemed to matter to him. Eric's whole attitude, his whole personality changed. He wasn't angry or depressed; he was perfectly emotionless. It scared Rigg to see Eric so disillusioned and he couldn't take it so he left.

Amanda looked at Eric's leg. She undid the brace while Eric watched. He said nothing because he trusted that she wouldn't hurt him. She was on bail for several murder charges and an assault of a police officer wouldn't help. Amanda didn't have the intention of hurting him, though. She simply wanted to see how bad he hurt his ankle. Amanda yanked off the bandage. She poked and prodded at his foot. It was cleaned up but looked dirty from all the bruising. She gently touched his ankle. Eric winced but still didn't care. The joint had some bones in it but was otherwise very jelly-like.

"You gonna kill me anytime soon?" Eric asked.

"No. But I'd really like to." Amanda growled.

"So do it. I know you want to."

"You passed your tests. I have to honor John's wishes and I'm not a murderer."

"And you're not Jigsaw." Eric taunted. Amanda glared at him. That was her breaking point before. The taunt that sent her crawling to him ready to knife his throat if only Hoffman hadn't stopped her. She walked up to her ready to slap him then realized what he was trying to do. He wanted to push her to the edge. He wanted her to kill him. She smiled at him. Eric still looked coldly at her. "Go ahead. I'm done playing these games."

"This isn't a game, Eric! This is your life. You won your game. Congratulations. Stop moping around. Daniel misses you. He needs you." Amanda started to leave. "Daniel's alive. He was the entire time." Amanda then left for her arraignment.

Eric didn't believe Amanda. She was still playing a game with him. She was setting him up. Daniel couldn't have been alive the whole time because he knew his son. He would have been able to figure out if he was alive. Eric took a deep breath. He didn't care what happened to him anymore he played enough games and the next one he figured he would just lose.

Hoffman slept in a chair next to Corbett's bed. Corbett woke up before him and ruffled his hair to wake him. "David, David." Che cooed. He stayed asleep so she yelled, "Mark! Wake Up!" The night before he told her Mark was his first name but preferred David, his middle name. Hoffman remained sleeping so Corbett gently hit his face.

"What the-" Hoff man looked at Corbett. She smiled brightly unaware of her predicament. He still didn't tell her what happened to her parents. "Oh, good morning. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. You look tired. What were doing?"

Hoffman sighed. He tried to come up with a decent lie. He looked outside the room. He wanted to put together something that could seem vaguely heroic. For what ever reason he wanted Corbett to respect him. Just as he was about to get into a story Maria the social service worker arrived. Maria cheerfully greeted Hoffman then introduced herself to Corbett.

"Hi, I'm Maria. I'm so sorry about what happened to your parents."

"What happened to my parents?" Corbett whimpered.

Hoffman spoke before Maria so she wouldn't tell Corbett anything he thought she shouldn't know. "Your parents have been injured, badly. They were taken to a special hospital and won't be able to take care of you for a while. So Maria was trying to find you another place to stay until then."

Maria looked at Hoffman exasperated. She couldn't believe that he hadn't told Corbett about her parents. As mean as it seemed it was better than giving her false hope. She gave them a minute by themselves so Hoffman could further explain what was happening. She looked through Corbett's records. Her father, Jeff, was a newspaper editor until three years ago when his son Dylan died. Afterwards he became a drunk. Corbett's mother Lynn was a successful trauma surgeon. She was widely known across the state however after the accident she became distant and depressed. She recognized she was falling apart and even prescribed anti-depressants to herself.

The Reinhart-Denlon family was pretty well documented already because it wasn't the first time social services came to their house. There were several incidents that took place. The worst happened when Jeff had gotten drunk and went into a brief rage. He accidentally cut Lynn's arm with a broken bottle and slapped her. A neighbor called the police on them and they found Corbett hiding in a closet scared to death. Jeff was put into jail over night then sent to AA and anger management. That was a few months after Dylan died. It never got worse than that but after Jeff got a gun everyone was on high alert. Eventually Lynn stopped staying at the house but no knew where she went. Corbett learned how to take care of herself after that.

Although she wasn't too fond of Hoffman herself, Maria noticed Corbett was. They acted like father and daughter. It was misleading because she knew Hoffman just met her a few hours ago. However the two seemed close. She watched Hoffman give Corbett a stuffed animal then walk out.

"So, I'm guessing you didn't find anyone closer." Hoffman whispered.

"No. Her aunt and uncle agreed to take her. They'll try to make it by today but they are facing a storm." Maria replied.

"Right. Who is she going to stay with her until they come?"

"We can keep her. Although I think she'll be more comfortable with you." Maria gestured at the room. Corbett was watching Hoffman closely seemingly afraid he might leave her behind. Hoffman smiled at her and waved which put her at ease.

"I can't take care of her. I have no experience with children besides I have a lot of work to do. The station's going to be very busy." Hoffman was truthful but he also worried that if he took Corbett home she might learn about the tests he had conducted there.

"I have to tell you something detective. I've seen girls like her before. They come in and out every day. They lose everything they got and try to find someone who understands what they're going through. Around here there are all of places where she could fall in with a bad crowd. Luckily, she found you. It'll only be a few hours to day tops. It's not too much to ask." Maria pleaded. She looked at Hoffman worried. She really thought in a day's time Corbett could be pushed into a life of crime.

Hoffman hesitated. First off he was part of the bad crowd. He planned to continue John's legacy as he promised. If Amanda stayed with him then she would be another bad influence on the young girl. Then guilt set in on Hoffman. He felt like he owed Corbett for putting her through so much trouble. He also could relate to her. When his sister died he couldn't get himself together. He ended up murdering a man, a guilty man but all the same murder is murder. He framed John and the rest is history. Hoffman couldn't live with himself if something like that happened to Corbett and after reassuring she would only have to stay for a while he accepted the offer.

Shortly after leaving the hospital Rigg arrived at the police station. It was as busy as he ever seen. Cops were running here and there. People were lined around the lobby waiting to be interrogated in relation with the Jigsaw Killings. Phones were ringing off the hook. Some calls were advice to find witnesses; others were coming forth as witnesses. It appeared that John's death and Amanda's arrest put a lot of people at ease. Now everyone wanted to come forward because they weren't afraid to be put to death.

Rigg thought it was ridiculous. He knew Jigsaw only went after those in need of a 'second chance'. People shouldn't have been hiding. They probably would have found him faster if they didn't. Then again the affects of the killings didn't go unnoticed. Crime rates dropped remarkably and those who committed crimes flocked to admit it. Jail was suddenly glamorous.

Rigg saw Art leaving an interrogation room. He was dressed in a suit and walked as if nothing happened. Rigg on the other hand hadn't even been home. He was too busy taking care of other business, he didn't even have a chance to stop by to change his clothes or even shower. He wanted to make sure Amanda would be put away before he stopped.

"Hey, Art!" Rigg yelled. Art stopped and turned around. "Back to work already?"

"Yeah." He replied. "My firm was picked to prosecute Ms. Young. Since I already know a lot about the case the put me on it."

"Doesn't your boss know you were held hostage just last night?"

"Yes, they do. However, I'm in working condition. This is a very high profile case and I wanted in on it. I putting leave off until I win. I want to put justice head of relaxation. It's not over until she's jailed Rigg."

Rigg smiled. "So, you're going to get her on the death penalty?"

Art didn't answer right away. He sat down at a desk and Rigg sat with him. Rigg was worried. Good news never followed an abrupt silence. In a lower voice so the surrounding people couldn't hear Art said, "I'm not supposed to tell you anything about this but I don't think I can win. Ms. Young's lawyer is pushing an insanity defense and he's also trying to reduce the twenty-eight counts of murder to five counts of manslaughter."

"He can't actually do that, can he? Why don't you just stop him?"

"He can do it and it's not as easy as you think to stop his claims Rigg. We don't have any physical evidence like fingerprints or hair that connect her to all of the murderers. She admitted to being involved in some of them, those are the manslaughter charges, and either way he's saying she wasn't mentally well. Of course there aren't any witnesses."

"What about Daniel?" Rigg said "He remembered her being at the house."

"He didn't say anything connecting her to the crimes. A man named Obi kidnapped them and Amanda was being retested. We have no proof."

Rigg was desperate. He didn't care that some people were looking at him crazy. He just wanted Art to say there was some way to convict Amanda. He mentioned Eric but Art said he probably couldn't give much. He mentioned Hoffman but Art didn't see any relation. "Okay. What about Jill?" Rigg asked. "She's John's ex-wife maybe he told her something."

Art froze. He looked around the room. Rigg looked back at him serious. Art continued looking around and rubbed his chin as if he was trying to find an excuse not to bring in Jill. The truth was he didn't need an excuse. Jill would have come if he begged.

Two years ago, Art, John and Jill were close friends. When John met Art they were two mavericks destined for greatness. John made a name for himself assisting in the design of new business factories such as Wilson Steel and Gideon Meat. The designs were so popular that even after the business failed there were new companies already willing to occupy them again. Art was trained as a DA winning all but his first few cases. He worked his way up the ladder to defend high profile cases and got paid in thousands. After hearing about John's latest project, one that would greatly improve the city, Art decided to invest his money into it and became a partner. As soon as word spread that the two heroes of the city were pairing up the city was in celebration. Everything was running perfect until the miscarriage. After that John was never the same. Art tried to pull him back together but John fell apart and everything came down with him.

Art being an honest and respectable man never considered a relationship with Jill because she was John's wife but it somehow it happened. With John often getting lost in his own world Art became the one Jill went to for comfort. They spent more and more time together until John was completely out of the picture. Only once did the relationship go to a point of regret. The shining sun was nearly blinding after leaving John's dark factory. Jill was hurt and scared of John. Art couldn't help but kiss her. In his mind he was helping but Jill pushed him away in the next second. She told Art to leave and went back in to the factory to tell John.

Three things happened to Art after that. First he lost the housing contract. With the millions invested in the project Art lost a lot of his money and his reputation also took a lethal blow. Second, he lost all contact with Jill. No matter how much Jill needed Art to help her especially after John was identified she continued defending her self. The last event was Art's tests. His first test overwhelmingly symbolic of John's hate for Art. His mouth was wired for kissing Jill. The chain and collar symbolized Art pulling Jill away from John and how John wanted to break Art's neck for it. Art sometimes laughed at how long it took for them to find John. Traps like that were so uniquely John; Art didn't know anyone else who thought like that.

"Hello? Art. Are you still listening to me?"

Art got out of his head. "Oh, sorry. We can't bring Jill in. She won't talk to me. It's useless. Amanda's arraignment is in twenty minutes. You can come if you want." Art's words were out as quick as he was. Rigg had to run after him to catch up.

The courtroom was very standard. There was a gallery, bench, jury box and tables for the plaintiff and defendant. The whole room was dominated by wood paneling. It was average sized but the unexpected flow of reporters and observers made the room very small. Art arrived before Amanda. Amanda and her attorney were held up by reporters and photographers. Once they arrived the arraignment began. Art took a moment to realize Amanda had actually dressed nice. She was in a suit, her hair tied in a bun, and she had makeup on that was more subtle then what she usually had on. Art wouldn't have known it was her if he wasn't told.

The judge called for order in the court then began. "Amanda Young, you are being charged for twenty-eight counts of murder in the 1st degree. Your lawyer, however, informed me that you are seeking a reduction in charges to five counts of manslaughter. Can counsel explain the grounds for the significant drop in charges?"

Amanda's lawyer, Marcus Wilson, stood up. "Your honor my client informed me that she was only involved in the deaths of five victims. Three of her victims were put in situations in which they could have avoided death."

Art came back, "Three of those victims were put in devices meant to kill them. One was shot in the head with a bullet that matched the one in Amanda's gun and the other victim was suffocated."

"The gunshot victim was killed shortly after he murderer someone close to my client. The suffocation was the result of paranoia that occurred due to untreated mental disease. The final three victims were allowed to escape however the engineering and tampering of the devices make it hard to prove. The other twenty-three completely lacked her involvement therefore she can't be charged."

The judge nodded. "Movement passed. The charge is reduced to five counts of voluntary manslaughter due to lack of evidence. Ms. Young on the five counts of manslaughter how do you plea?"

Again Amanda's lawyer spoke for her. "Not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. We had her evaluated by the criminal psychologist that works for the police department. The results showed she exhibits symptoms of Stockholm syndrome, Borderline Personality Disorder, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder." He handed a stack of papers to the bailiff then she handed them to the judge.

"Okay. I was wondering though Mr. Wilson why is it that your rushing this case? Ms. Young was only found yesterday."

"We wanted the case to blow over quickly."

"I'm thinking you wanted to pull wool over my eye. I won't rush this decision. Trial date is set for November 19, next month. What does defense seek for bail?"

"Ten million dollars." Art said.

"Isn't that excessive?" Marcus asked. "She doesn't have a job, house or car. She has no family anywhere. There's no flight risk. There's not even a danger of her committing any crime. She doesn't pose any danger. She needs to get herself back together. I suggest a non-monetary release. She'll give up her passport, be monitored and seek help for her mental disorders."

"Fair enough." The judge directed Amanda to stand up then said, "Ms. Young, you're being released from police custody. In order for you to stay out of jail, you must be monitored all the time. You are not allowed to leave the county and must surrender your passport. You must also get a permanent address, find a job and seek medical assistance by the end of the month. If I find you have violated these orders you will be sent directly to jail. Is that understood?"

"Yes, your honor." Amanda said.

"Court is adjourned." The Judge replied. As the crowd left Art turned back to Rigg. He was clearly angered by the turnout. It wasn't supposed to end up that way. Before Art could explain Rigg got up and left.

As night came, Rigg went back to the hospital to see Eric. It was notably calmer. There weren't many as many doctors around because not as much help was needed. Eric was awake and quietly staring at the walls.

"Hey, buddy. How's going?" Rigg greeted.

Eric glanced at him but started looking back at the wall. "Fine."

Rigg sat down. There was a silence as Eric continued to stare at the wall. Rigg wanted to talk to Eric but couldn't seem to get words out instead he started to stare at the wall with Eric. A few minutes later Eric announced, "Three hundred diamonds. I counted three hundred diamonds on that wall."

"Congratulations. Amanda was indicted today. She was only charged with five counts of manslaughter and she's claiming to be insane." Rigg said. Eric was looking at Rigg with the same empty hollow eyes. "They said you're going to be better. You're foot will heal. You'll be able to walk again. You can get back to your life as you knew it."

Eric's disinterest remained. "Sure. I'll do that. I'll join SWAT. I'll join the Army. I'll work. I'll go home. It doesn't really matter. I know that Jigsaw is still out there. Testing me, he wants to see if I learned. I want to fail this test and lose the game. It just seems better that way."

Rigg scoffed. "You know Eric you used to be a strong man. I don't know what happened to you. Jigsaw gave you a second chance use it." Rigg stormed out.

Eric laughed at him. He wanted to yell loud enough for the whole floor to hear. "You don't what it's like Rigg! You wouldn't know the things you lose when you're locked away!" He repeated from the ominous tape that sealed his fate. He said to himself, "I stayed strong. I didn't give up. It was for my son. Daniel. Where's Daniel?! Where's Daniel?!" The whole world changed before his eyes he thought he was back in the bathroom. He was screaming at the top of his lungs without knowing. He grabbed a phone book off of the nightstand and was prepared to break his foot again. But just in time nurse's came in to sedate him and bring him back to reality unaware of what just happened.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **First off I'd like to thank Silver2018 for leaving some helpful reviews. You've been a great help. Next, I want to say I mention a few characters' ranks after promotions. If I made a mistake please let me know so I can fix it. Lastly, this story isn't completely in canon with events in Saw V. Some character's last names are different. In addition, the trap Hoffman was conducting never happened.

**Chapter 4**

_One week later…_

"Corbett, wake up." Hoffman said. He shook her shoulder and she woke up right away.

"Do I have too?" Corbett whined.

"Yes. Your aunt and uncle are coming and I don't want them to think you've been living in a pigsty. We have to clean everything up. Come on. This may take a while."

Hoffman looked around the living room. There were toys, stuffed animals, paints and dishes all over the floor. Crayon drawings were on the walls. Trash managed to find its way everywhere, even on the blades of the ceiling fan. Corbett herself was a mess with pen and marker on her hands and face. The giant mess was the result of a week of no-rules parenting, courtesy of Hoffman. Guilt had convinced him it was the least he could do for Corbett. Now looking back it wasn't a good idea.

The long stay only happened because Corbett's aunt and uncle were snowed in by a blizzard. The storm went on for days and the clean up took longer. They had to wait to get on there flight but finally managed to get on the plane and leave for California. They were expected to arrive in the afternoon.

Rigg waltzed in Art's office. He just back from a drug bust in the suburbs. There were several men from a gang equipped with guns. Luckily, none of the men seemed to knowhow to aim a gun and the team left without incident. Rigg settled in a chair while Art finished a phone call.

Rigg, Art, Hoffman and even Eric received promotions as a result of their work during the Jigsaw killings. Kerry, Tapp and Sing were also posthumously promoted. Rigg was now a captain. His rank entitled him to be the leader of the department's SWAT team. Hoffman was also given the rank of captain. He in turn became the head of the homicide department. Rigg knew Eric's promotion to Lieutenant was more of a compensation for Eric's suffering because six months ago Eric was one mistake away from getting fired. Kerry, Tapp and Sing were all promoted to Sergeant. Art was offered the position of District Attorney but settled as the police department's attorney.

"Daniel, how are you today?" Art greeted. He recently got in the habit of calling Rigg, "Daniel" as a result of their friend ship.

"Fine, you?" Rigg replied.

"I'm alright. Haven't got anywhere in the Young case though. We have nothing on her."

"What about their hideouts? They were checked. In the Wilson Steel plant, we found strands of Amanda's hair and there was a pool of her blood in the Gideon factory where monitors were set to watch traps as they took place. Her prints were also lifted off of a trap."

"The trap in question is Amanda's old reverse bear trap. She kept it as a memento. She cut her hair and hand. So we have the hair and blood. Amanda likes to cut things on herself and keep dangerous things around that could kill her. That doesn't help us. It helps the defense, the insane part to be specific."

Rigg was puzzled. He put his hand to head. "Are you with me or against me? I'm doing the best I can."

"I know that and I'm trying to do the best I can to help but Amanda's sanity is the big question. We have enough evidence to say she was there. We need evidence that says she was sane. Right now everyone believes she was under Jigsaw's mind control."

"Art, the whole mind control thing is crap and you know it. Who can do things like that when they're insane?"

Art chuckled. He stopped after Rigg gave him a mean look. "I always thought you were the kind off guy who would say 'Who does this when they're sane?' All accounts say the insane do these things. There was one guy; his name was Scott Tibbs. He was the friend of Adam Faulkner and obsessed with Jigsaw. He was making a documentary and at the end got in a trap he made for himself. Needless to say he died. His band mates said he had a behavioral disorder and forgot to take his medicine during the time. Basically he was an insane man that made a lethal trap. You say the insane can't do this, prove it to me and I might have a better case."

Corbett and Hoffman finished cleaning the afternoon. The entire house was spotless. They were now cleaning themselves up. Hoffman was really amazed. The house hadn't been so clean since he moved in. Corbett also had fun. She had fun. She said that she hadn't spent time with her parents recently and was glad to be spending time with him now. Hoffman liked having Corbett around too. She kept him grounded to the other side of life. If he wasn't so involved with work he wouldn't let her go.

The doorbell rang alerting Hoffman that Corbett's relatives were there. He answered the door after telling Corbett her family was there. The couple looked something like Hoffman envisioned them. They were middle aged but looked older. Corbett's uncle was tall with brown hair. Stubble speckled his square chin which matched his block like muscles. Hoffman thought he looked like a stereotypical PI. Corbett's aunt on the other hand looked forgiving and compassionate. She was Lynn's sister for sure. They could have been twins.

"You Det. Mark Hoffman?" The man asked gruffly.

"Yes. Who are you?" Hoffman asked, as if he didn't know.

"Anthony Constantine. I was told by the cops you were taking care of my niece. Where is she?"

"In her room getting her things together. What took you so long? It's been a week." Hoffman invited them in. He sat in an arm chair and they sat on the couch. It was similar to the interrogations that Hoffman was so used to.

"There was a blizzard. No traffic was going anywhere. Now it's my turn to ask the questions. Who exactly are you? How do you know Corbett?"

Hoffman was taken aback. Here's something he wasn't used to a person turning the questions on him. He thought of his answer carefully. He wouldn't be in Minnesota to tell Corbett to lie so she might let on that he was involved. "I'm a cop. I was held in a trap. I found her shortly after I got out. By then her parents had already died. Social services wanted me to keep her while you were out."

"How did she handle the news?" Anthony pressed.

"I didn't tell her. I didn't have the heart to."

Anthony was about to explode but Corbett's aunt managed to hold him back. "I don't think I could have either. By the way my name's Lilly." She shook Hoffman's hand. Lilly tried to get Anthony to do the same but neither man budged. Hoffman was almost sure if he did his hand would break. Lilly continued, "I couldn't believe. It when I heard. Lynn was such a good woman. She didn't do anything wrong. I admit I thought Jeff needed some psychiatric help after Dylan's death but still he didn't deserve death. I don't even understand why Corbett had to be involved. Who would that to a little girl? I'll tell you who; a monster! Every last one of those psychos are monsters. Evil right out of Hell!"

Hoffman nodded slightly and got very quiet. He thought he made a mistake bringing Corbett into the trap but never thought he was a monster. Monsters would never have kept a little girl safe from harm. A monster wouldn't care about anyone else. So how was he a monster? He tried to avoid suspicion by saying, "There were a few righteous killings. A rapist, a murderer, a domestic abuser. Two, actually one of them killed my sister."

"I'm sorry about your sister." Lilly said, "While there may have been a few 'good' deaths, the rest were uncalled for."

"A lot of them were immoral." Hoffman argued.

Anthony leaned towards Hoffman. "You sound like you admire him. Get some kind of sick enjoyment out of this bastard, huh? I'm going to get Corbett. She probably shouldn't be in this house." Without asking where she was Anthony marched throughout the house. Lilly and Hoffman sat uncomfortably while Anthony got Corbett. However Corbett seemed unwilling to go.

Corbett begged, "Come on, uncle. Do I have to go?"

"Yeah, you do. Come on Lilly we're going." Anthony said.

"I want to stay with Mark. He's nice. He let me stay up all night." Anthony didn't listen instead he dragged Corbett out then shut the door. Hoffman looked at the door longingly. He couldn't understand why Anthony wanted Corbett out so quickly. All he said was some people deserved what they got. He didn't get a chance to grieve too long though. He got a call from the police department saying they found a body.

Rigg came to the hospital to pick up Eric and take him home. He brought him clothes from his apartment. To his surprise, Eric had already dressed himself. Not in clothes Rigg had expected however. He was back in the demeaning orange jumpsuit and his leg was strapped in the old rusted leg brace. Beyond that Rigg thought that both items should have been confiscated as evidence. Although the case was basically over Rigg thought they could still be useful in Amanda's trial.

Pointing to the leg brace Rigg said, "That thing is going to give you tetanus."

Dryly, Eric replied. "No. They gave me my shots. Why do you have clothes with you?"

"I thought you needed them. I didn't expect you to wear a jumpsuit. It makes you look like a convict."

Eric chuckled. He hopped off the bed. He held his balance while he grabbed his crutches. He stood up on the crutches then stopped. After a moment he tried to hold his crutches up straight. Rigg watched him quizzically. He didn't bother asking what he was about to do. Eric stay focused and tried to swing on his crutches like a gymnast. The first two times he failed but landed on his feet. Holding the crutches out in front of him Eric ran foreword attempting a big swing. Unfortunately, the crutches fell down. Eric fell flat on his back hitting hi head on the floor.

"Eric, you alright?" Rigg rushed to his side. Eric looked up at Rigg vacantly. He turned his head looking around. "Eric. Eric, can you hear me?"

Eric looked back at Rigg. He was confused. "Yeah, I can hear you. Help me up." Rigg helped stand Eric up then gave him his crutches.

"Don't swing on them." Rigg advised. Eric snatched the crutches away from him. He started to head out the door. "You know being an introvert won't help you out at all. Everyone here is just trying to help you out and you keep shrugging them off. As long as I've known you, you've been a bit of a hard ass but you always gave a reason. Now you act out just for the sake of it. Man, if there's something wrong with you tell us."

Eric walked over to Rigg. He got in his face and his voice quivered, "You want to know what's wrong with me? I was held by a serial killer for six months without reason. That's what's wrong! I was interrogated. My son was kidnapped. I broke my foot with a toilet tank cover! I was held in a small room in a sewer with no light, no air. My only food was some sort of watered down gruel. Eric laughed. Quietly at first but he became hysterical, "My only company was a family of rats that I used as dolls after they died! Rigg, I was a hostage for a game. You expect me to open up. Give me a break. I spent so much time in there by myself I almost forgot how to talk. I'm still getting used to it. You going to take me home or not?" Rigg nodded and followed him out to the parking lot.

When they came to the parking lot Eric stopped. He took a deep breath of air and smiled. The air was still pungent. Smog surrounded them like an evil mist. People's arguments were heard from blocks away. Cars screeched and swerved. Still Eric loved it. His nose wasn't burning from disinfectant and he was nauseous from the smell of dead rats. It wasn't dark. It wasn't dim. It was bright from the sun. The best part of it all, the part that made Eric want to scream with joy was the endlessness of it. He could walk for hours in one direction, turn in another, walk some more and he wouldn't have even left the city. There were no walls to restrain him. That moment he realized he wasn't a prisoner anymore. He was free.

Eric wanted to experiment with his new freedom. Ignoring his clothes, he decided to walk across the street to the vacant lot. Mostly homeless people lived there but there were also passed out addicts and a few prostitutes. After waiting for a few passing cars, Eric crossed the street. Observing the people Eric noticed something familiar. A sleeping woman was wearing light blue pants with a red skull on the right leg. She seemed to rest her head on a back pack but in fact slept on her hand. Eric only knew a few people who would have dressed in those pants and probably would have slept on her hand. Taking a wild guess he gently kicked the side of her head. The woman jumped. She drew a knife that she was holding below her head. Eric back away. "Calm down, Amanda. I'm not going to hurt you."

Amanda closed the knife and tucked it in her back pocket. "What do you want then?"

Eric shrugged. He didn't have anything specific for Amanda. "I don't know. Thought I'd ask how you were."

"As good as it can get for me. I'm just trying to avoid jail."

"I heard. It's on the news. Don't you need a place to stay?"

"No. This is where I stay."

"An empty lot surrounded by buildings, in front of a hospital that has a bunch of junkies and pros isn't what the court had in mind. You know you can stay at my apartment if you need to."

Amanda laid back down on her back pack. She smiled at Eric deviously and said, "The court wanted an address. I have an address. There's even a mailbox to prove it." She pointed to a blue painted cardboard box that had a sticker of an eagle on it. A corvette pulled to the side of the street flashing its lights. Amanda got up and walked to the car. "If you'll excuse me I have a date."

"A date?" Eric asked.

"I have to make money some way. The court said I needed a job too." Amanda yelled back. She got in the car and it drove off Rigg came up to Eric. "You done talking to serial killers? We have somewhere to go." Eric turned around and headed back to Rigg's van.

When Eric and Rigg got to Eric's apartment they were shocked at the condition of it. It was clean. Eric expected a thick layer of dust on everything. He walked to his table where there was a note. He showed it to Rigg then read it aloud, "I decided to clean up your apartment every week until you get back. I'm sorry that we had a fight. If I knew what would've happened, I wouldn't want that fight to be the last thing we said to each other. I would have apologized. I miss you and hope to see you soon. Your son, Daniel."

Eric tried not to cry but couldn't. "He made it. He got out okay. Right, Rigg? He wasn't hurt was he?"

"Nothing serious." Rigg reassured, "Kerry found him in the safe. He had an oxygen tank on him. He moved back with his mom and he's in college now. We told him that we found you but he hasn't responded since. No one can get in touch with him. His roommate seems to be hiding something so we're working on it."

"You don't have to. If Daniel wants to see me he'll find me. He's just hardheaded. A little like you."

"Well, you did name him after me. Not too surprising."

Eric put the note down and walked around the apartment. On the end table he saw a picture of him, Daniel and Kerry on a fishing trip. It was back when Daniel was ten and eager to follow his father's footsteps. Kerry and Eric were dating but his marriage covered up the relationship. It caught him by surprise that he hadn't heard from Kerry. "What about Kerry? I haven't seen her anywhere either. As involved as she was in the case you'd think she'd be the one to announce its end instead of Agent Erickson."

Rigg was dreading the moment Eric would ask where Kerry was. Instead of beating around the bush, he was completely honest. "Kerry died."

Eric slumped down. "Don't tell me she died because of Jigsaw."

"I'm sorry." Rigg said.

Eric punched the wall in front of him. "Damn it! He went after her just because she was on the case. He's trying to get rid of all of us isn't he? When the whole department falls down he's going to take over with his crazy sense of justice. That's what this is! After the department is gone he can't be arrested. We have to stop him and you're going to help me."

"John Kramer died. The whole thing's over."

"No. There's someone else."

"Amanda Young? We got her too. There's no one else."

"There's someone else! The person who locked me up! The one who gave me these clothes and this brace. It wasn't Amanda and it wasn't Jigsaw. There was someone else. A man, younger than Jigsaw, older than Amanda. We have to find him."

"Okay. I'll look. You got rest though. You'll be okay by yourself?" Rigg asked. Eric waved him out and lay on the couch. At first Rigg pushed away what Eric said. Then he remembered that Hoffman told him that he was involved. Rigg rushed to the department right away.

The homicide department was busier than expected. With the Jigsaw Killings over and a majority of murders hiding the department should have been calm. As Rigg pushed around he found Hoffman's office in the back of the floor. He waited for a second before Hoffman came in.

Rigg talked first "What's going on here?"

"A body was found in the sewers 30 feet away from what we think was a trap." Hoffman informed, "However the trap was burned and the body was so badly decomposed that we may not be able to identify it."

"Mark, I already know what you're hiding. You don't have to treat me like I'm an oblivious cop."

"I didn't do it. The body is at least 5 years old minimum. Jigsaw wasn't even active at that time. So why did you come down here?" Hoffman sat down behind his desk.

Rigg leaned over and whispered so no one could hear even though the door was closed. "Did you kidnap Eric? He knows that someone took him and if he figures out it was you he won't hesitate turning you in. I told him about Kerry. He's not too happy about it."

Hoffman kept a straight face clearly unruffled. "I did take him. He was required for your test. You got him back alive that's enough. If he turns me in, I'll turn you in too. I'm not done with Jigsaw yet."

A police officer knocked on the door. Hoffman let him in the office to keep Rigg quiet. "Captain, this girl wanted to talk to you." He stepped aside and in walked little Corbett. She was still happy as any girl could be.

"Hi, Mark!" She greeted. Hoffman picked her up and sat her in his lap. "Guess what?"

"What?" Hoffman replied.

"My uncle is going to let me stay with you. I kept telling him how great you were and he said that I could stay with you since I liked you."

"Oh. Is your uncle here?"

"No, he went back to Minnesota."

Hoffman sighed. "Corbett, I'm sorry but I can't take care of you. It's very busy." Corbett started to pout and guilt hit Hoffman hard. "Alright. I'll take care of you. But if you misbehave I'll send you back to your aunt and uncle."

Corbett smiled and hugged Hoffman. Hoffman smiled back but couldn't ignore Rigg's threatening stare.

Late at night Eric drove himself back to the empty lot. The corvette was there dropping Amanda off. He waited for to settle while he gathered himself. He was about to do something he knew he would hate in the morning and for the rest of his life. He walked over to Amanda. "You came back late."

"I don't remember you giving me a curfew." Amanda retorted.

"Sorry. Look, are you actually going to stay here?"

"Yeah. I have been for the best week."

"I want you to stay at my place."

"No way! Why would you even ask that?"

Eric took a breath. "I guess I feel bad for putting you in this position. It's hard to explain but I feel guilty. Let's just go and get out of the cold."

Amanda laughed loudly almost waking the other occupants of the lot. "You can't be serious."

"I am. This is more of a guilt thing. It's not like I want to do this." Amanda just lay back down on the ground ignoring Eric. He kneeled down next to her. "If you don't I'll arrest you for violating your bail terms." Amanda casually looked at him and he took out a pair of handcuffs. "This will just get me my job back faster."

Amanda scoffed but obeyed. She wasn't ready to go back in jail. She walked in front of Eric to the car. He grabbed her, cuffed her then took the knife out of her pocket. He pushed her into the car. Eric sat in the driver's seat. "I have a feeling this isn't going to work out too well." Amanda said.

"You're probably right." Eric replied, "But think of it this way. When the cops sweep that lot for criminals in a half hour you won't be jailed. I owe you."

Amanda knew guilt was the main cause for Eric's actions. She started to feel bad herself. She was so harsh to him when all he was trying to do was find his son. Under her breath she said, "I owe you something, too.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Eric undid Amanda's handcuffs once they got back in the apartment. Amanda didn't make a run for it as she had planned. Instead she stayed, surprised by the apartment. It wasn't as a fancy as she though it would be. It was small and a little rundown. To the left of the door was a small kitchen with a square card table in the middle of the space that left five feet of space in either direction. Where she was standing now was part of the living room. A couch was lined on the right side of the wall and a coffee table was in front of that. There was a balcony outside because they were on the fourth floor. It was also dressed with two chairs and a table with a potted flower. The TV was in between the bookcase and bedroom door. She couldn't see the bathroom but guessed it was in the bedroom. A final observation was the worn furniture Eric probably got from a thrift store. Amanda had a hard time imagining Daniel staying with Eric because the apartment was clearly a just-divorced bachelor pad.

"I'll take the couch, you take the bed." Eric instructed.

Amanda disagreed. "I'm the guest. I'll stay on the couch."

"No. Take the bed."

"The couch is fine. You should keep the bed since you have a foot problem."

"I'm trying to be nice here. Take the bed!"

"I'm trying to be nice to you! I'll sleep on the couch!"

Eric pushed Amanda in the bedroom. "Look there's nothing wrong." He shoved Amanda in and closed the door. Eric pushed a chair in front of the door then sat on it.

"Eric! Let me out!" Amanda screamed.

"No. Just got to sleep. You'll be fine." Eric said.

Amanda's childhood fear of dark, closed places set in. There was a lamp and window in the room but they were no use to her. It was night so there was no light from the window and the lamp seemed to far away to reach. "At least unlock the door, please!" She begged.

"You'll stay in the room?" Eric asked.

"Yes, I will! Just open the door." Eric took the chair out and opened the door. Amanda was kneeling at the door.

"You okay?" Eric Asked.

Stubbornly, Amanda stood up. She dusted her self off then sat on the bed. "I'm fine. You should work in a prison though. You're intimidating enough." She lied down on the bed and turned on the lamp. "Are you going to watch me sleep, warden?"

"Alright, I get it I'm gonna close the door so that lamp won't keep me up. Night." He lay down on the couch and fell asleep.

It was three in the morning. Amanda couldn't sleep. She tried everything from counting sheep to lying on the floor using her book bag as a pillow. Her mind ran around trying to figure out why Eric would let her stay. It wasn't for his reputation. The way people talked having Amanda in his apartment was an invitation to tons of bad publicity. Eric mentioned owing her. It was true that he threw her in jail and that set off a line of events that ultimately made her a serial killer and ruined her hope at ever getting a better chance at life but conversely it wasn't all bad. If she never went to jail, she never would've started heroin, she'd never overdose, get trapped and meet John. John changed her life, no matter what any one said. He was the most significant person in her life. Amanda couldn't imagine why Eric would think he owed her unless he still didn't understand how valuable the lessons John taught were even though he passed his test.

Amanda struggled to find a better position to sleep in then heard a thunk from the living room. She grabbed her knife from her back pocket. Slowly she crept out of the room. She looked left and right at the door and balcony to see if someone was trying to break in. She looked ahead at Eric and thought it was weird he wasn't awake from the noise. She was surprised to see him on the floor grabbing at his throat struggling to breathe.

Amanda rushed to his side. "What's wrong? Are you choking?" Eric opened his eyes for a second then kicked at Amanda. "Hey! I'm trying to help you out." She said. As Eric continued to trash Amanda pried his hands from his neck. Eric overpowered her and kept his hands on his neck but Amanda still got a glimpse at an odd ring around his neck. She figured he was hallucinating about being hanged. As a solution she got behind him and lifted him on the couch.

Eric gasped loudly, coughed then looked at Amanda. "Why am I on your lap?"

"You were on the floor, chocking. I thought you were hallucinating so I brought you on the couch." Amanda explained.

"Ok…um…how do I say this? I don't know what I was hallucinating but I highly doubt in required me to sit in your lap."

"Okay then get off." Amanda shoved Eric off of her. He sat next to her on the couch. "Look you may not care about your life but I kinda do. Don't die on me and don't try to hide it when you almost do."

Eric scoffed. "Fine, I'll play your game but Amanda I wasn't dying. I was sleeping and woke up on your life. Maybe I was having a lucid nightmare but I sure as hell don't remember it."

Amanda looked at Eric. "You were dying." Eric shook his head. Amanda was puzzled. She was sure he was dying. His joking smile and laugh combined with his unsettling ease proved he was sincere. Amanda back to her room as Eric lay down on the couch. Sure she claimed delusions in court but it occurred maybe she was really was crazy.

The next morning Rigg visited Hoffman on the way to work. Hoffman opened the door he looked like he was hung over. His eyes were squinted. His hair was messily spread across his face. He also seemed unable to stand on his two feet without leaning on the door frame.

"Long night?" Rigg asked.

Hoffman mumbled something then tipped over almost hitting Rigg. He tapped the side of his face to wake himself up then repeated himself. "I was up all night. Corbett wanted to stay up and I don't trust her running around alone in the kitchen where she can light the house on fire so I stayed up with her. One night and she manages to wreak havoc on the house. One night! At first I thought she was just trying to wear herself down but she doesn't stop. On the upside I did learn not to let kids drink soda after 10."

Rigg suppressed his laughter. "So you let her stay up all night and drink soda and thought she'd go to sleep? I don't get it you act like you have it all together at work."

"It's different with Corbett. If I tell her no, she'll start crying. If she starts crying I'll feel guilty and I can't take that. I'm sorry I'm just soft."

"How long are you going to keep her with you?"

"Until the end of the school year that way she won't have to worry about making new friends midway throughout the year. As far as work goes I won't be in until I can get a homeschooling teacher so I'm assigning you the John Doe of Sewers case. Okay?"

"I'm not a homicide detective. I don't think you're thinking straight."

"I know I'm not thinking straight. I haven't slept. All you have to do is go to the ME and Forensics and see what they found. Then you put together what happened. It's just like Blue's Clues. I'm going to sleep. Come back later." He patted Rigg's shoulder and stumbled inside.

Being in SWAT didn't require Rigg to visit the autopsy room so he had trouble finding it. After roaming he got to the bottom floor where autopsy was. It was a cold clean space. Two tables were centered in the middle of the room. A variety of sharp instruments were bathing in a bowl of alcohol. A hanging scale was gleaming in the back of the room. The most ominous thing in the room was a pair of large chest shears. The mere thought of having his chest cut by those made Rigg wince.

The young ME joyfully laughed. "I still haven't met a person unafraid of those shears. I'm Dr. Jan Hardy."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Daniel Rigg. Did you find anything on the John Doe?"

"Yeah and he's not a John Doe." Jan walked to a table and pulled back a white sheet. Underneath was a well rotted corpse. The stench was almost unbearable. Its hair was limp against its unusually thin, jagged face. Odd cuts also darted across the man's body. "This is Cecil Fletcher. His prints were already in our system because he was arrested of drug possession and burglary."

"Interesting. What else do you got?"

"He went missing 13 years ago under suspicious circumstances. Jill Tuck reported him. This was five days before she would have taken him to trial for assault. The only people who saw him regularly were John Kramer and Jill Tuck. They claimed to not have seen him."

"You think she did it?"

"No. There's no Jigsaw piece it's definitely his work." Jan pulled down the blanket on Cecil to his hips. She pointed out each body part as she spoke. "He died from blood loss as result from cuts. The jaggedness of his face look like knife marks. They're deep as if they we're digging in his face. These thin lines here look like scars from sharp wire. I don't know how they got there; the pattern is irregular. Lastly, his wrists. They're punctured right through the artery."

Rigg pulled the blanket up in disgust. "John was a very sick man. Even if he did lose his child, it wouldn't hurt him to be humane. Quick death is better than torture."

"Rigg, I know you don't like this but take one more look at this body. Don't you think it's a little odd that a body that was sitting a sewer for 13 years is a well persevered as this? Also that no one noticed it or a rat didn't eat at it? I think that maybe he was frozen and shrink wrapped then sometime within the last three months left out for a few days then thrown in the sewers. I sent everything I found to forensics they'll have more for you there."

"Got it." Rigg left for the crime lab. Walking up he pieced together what he knew. The John Doe was Cecil Fletcher. He went missing 13 years ago prior to an assault trial. The only people who saw him before his disappearance were John Kramer and Jill Tuck. Jill Tuck called him in and John Kramer became a serial killer. Cecil's death was consistent with Jigsaw's MO minus the jigsaw piece. Presumably he was persevered until a few weeks ago after which he was rotted and dumped in the sewer. When Kerry was still alive she always told Rigg to look for links and patterns to solve mysteries. So far the only useful link was Jill Tuck. If he was going to get anywhere she was the person to talk to.

The forensics office was dark with computers lighting the room. Rigg heard something moving around so he shouted to clarify someone was there. A squirrelly old man switched on the lights. The light revealed a room full of equipment.

"Hello, Captain Rigg. How can help you?" The man said.

"I'm working on the Cecil Fletcher case. I was wondering if you had anything for me." Rigg replied.

The man speed walked to the microscope. "As a matter of fact I do. It turns out that Mr. Fletcher was covered in topsoil. My first assumption was he was buried, dug up and then thrown in the sewer. However I looked in it and found grubs and fertilizer. The dirt was store-bought. This means one of two things he was buried in a garden or someone poured dirt on him. Guess which one?"

"Someone poured dirt on him?"

"Yes, sir. I also know who poured it. I couldn't figure out what trap Cecil was in but I did find barbed wire with traces of blood on it. I tested it and it belonged to our favorite neighborhood serial killer."

The man brought up a screen on his computer that showed the fingerprint match. Rigg instantly grinned. It was Amanda Young. Armed with his new evidence Rigg reported first to Art. Art stayed in his police office most of the time trying to gather information for Amanda's case. He wasn't offered anymore cases because of his occupation with Amanda's case. The higher ups even noticed his devotion in a bad way. Occasionally Rigg heard them discussing Art's supposed obsession with the case. Once Rigg heard Art stayed late one night then broke into the police records to get everything he could. Art was almost fired but he argued any other attorney would fall for the insanity defense. His boss agreed and he kept his job.

When Rigg came to see him Art was skimming through old newspapers and jotting down notes. "Daniel, tell me you have something I can use."

Rigg sat down in front of the desk. "The body in the sewer was identified as Cecil Fletcher. He was killed in a trap."

"Cecil? I know him. He visited Jill's drug clinic. One night he caused Jill to miscarry. No one has seen him since. What does he have to do with this?"

"Amanda Young's fingerprints were found on his body. There was store-bought dirt on his jacket and he wasn't as decayed as he should have been. I think Amanda somehow preserved the body, threw him the sewer and covered him with dirt to make it look like someone had dug him up and threw him away."

Art looked up from his newspapers. "She wasn't with John when Cecil disappeared. Cecil would have been missing for at least 10 years. How do you suggest she got him?"

Rigg shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe he was keeping the body for validation or he kept him somewhere for 10 years until he died then used his body for experiments."

"John wanted to be validated for killing Cecil. So he kept him for 10 years and used his body for experiments. Then after Jigsaw died Amanda got the body and made it look like it was dug up. That doesn't make any sense, Daniel. The only thing I got out of it is Amanda's just as insane as the defense wants her to be."

"Oh my God, Art. I'm getting everything I can find. You can do me a favor by not arguing all of it."

Art laughed, "What do you think the defense is going to do to everything we say? They will watch and listen to every word. One inconsistency they'll be all over you. I have to make sure you don't slip up. You're my main help here so I need you to give me straight facts regarding insanity. If anything we have to prove she was sane. Right now we have nothing."

Rigg looked at the bookshelf on the wall. All the books were about law. Rigg took a closer peak at the books. There were books on every section of the law: family law, criminal law, human rights, immigration, etc. Rigg saw a book on common defenses and grabbed it. The book was thick and leather bound. He flipped through the pages and got to the section on insanity defenses. He skimmed through it and placed the book on Art's desk pointed to the last passage.

"What?" Art asked.

"This section here. Look it says people can be argued as Guilty but Mentally Ill." Rigg explained. "This is what we need to argue. She's mentally unstable. I get that. But PTSD and Stockholm don't cause people to kill. She did that on her own. Kerry wasn't morally corrupt. She didn't follow Jigsaw's criteria. Amanda killed Kerry for vengeance. I say if we want to win we have to say she has a mental defect but was still stable enough to kill and is still stable enough to kill again."

Art closed the book. "Daniel. This case isn't that easy. Some people already believe Amanda isn't responsible. Some people even use her as the poster child of Jigsaw's control. People think she's a hero."

"So she has supporters. I know that at least 12 people don't support her. No more matter what we present those people will still say she's guilty."

"Okay. I'll look into it but you need a break. Isn't your wife coming home today? Spend the day with her. I'll let Detective Hoffman know about the case. Come on go."

Rigg knew there was no changing Art's mind. He put the book back in place and left the office.

The homeless man sitting near the stairs looked up to the higher floor. The couple arguing in the apartment was keeping him awake. He groaned and covered his ears. Other neighbors tried to calm them. No one had any luck. The security guards even threaten to call the cops. However the man inside yelled he was a cop and was trying to control the situation. So the argument continued and the vagrant couldn't sleep.

"You better be glad I haven't thrown you off the balcony!" Amanda screamed. She pinched her index finger and thumb close together "I'm this close to doing that right now!"

"Do it." Eric taunted. "At least you'll end up in jail and I won't have to live with you anymore."

"Alright then let's go." Amanda pulled on Eric's arm and tried to drag him to the balcony. He instead fell lying on the couch and Amanda dragged his head into the couch and Amanda dragged his head into the arm of the couch. Eric fell off the couch then lunged after Amanda. They wrestled around on the floor trying to roll the other to the balcony. Eric tried to kick Amanda with his metal boot but hit the end table knocking it over. The lamp and pictures crashed on the floor shattering on the carpet.

"Now look what you've done!" Eric yelled.

"Me?!" Amanda yelled back. "You kicked the table!"

"I was trying to kick you! If you didn't move this wouldn't have happened." He grabbed a broken piece of the lamp. The thin purple plastic broke again when he grabbed it.

"Now I need to get a new one. I don't think they make this kind anymore."

Amanda teased him, "Don't worry about it. They probably have them at the junkyard right next to where you got that couch."

Eric threw a piece of glass at her. "I'm sorry my apartment doesn't hold a candle to your empty lot but at least I have furniture and a job."

"It's not my fault I don't have a job. People don't hire as many drug addicts as they used to." Amanda picked up a picture on the floor. She saw it was a picture of Eric, Daniel and Eric's old partner Kerry. He handed Eric. "Have you talked to Daniel?"

Eric was silent for a moment. He threw the picture on the floor. "No. He disappeared after I was found. He's either trying to get to me or trying to hide."

"Daniel wouldn't hide. The kid's a hero. If it wasn't for him I'd be dead, although I don't think you would mind. He killed that guy Xavier if you didn't notice." Amanda said.

"I noticed. He slit that man's throat with the hacksaw."

"Yeah. Which reminds me, I've been meaning to ask why didn't you cut your foot off? I mean it's simpler then breaking it."

"I needed my foot."

"To do what? At that time wasn't death upon you? Didn't you think that you'd never get out? I didn't scare you a little?"

Eric laughed out loud. "Amanda, you are 5'3'' and 107 pounds. You're not the most intimidating person I ever met. I mean you're only a little bigger than Daniel."

"That doesn't mean anything!"

"Alright. You want to be a big girl? Get me a lamp and some picture frames." Eric got up and handed Amanda some money. She refused to get up. "Please. You wouldn't make a crippled man do it, would you?"

Amanda laughed. "Okay. Fine. I'll get it. I hope you like pink. Don't hold your breath while waiting. Actually on second thought please do."

Amanda walked around the city for hours. She had to go buy the lamp and frames for Eric since she felt a slight guilt towards him. However she wasn't quite ready to talk to him. Amanda stayed in the city roaming. She was very familiar with the bad side of the city. She had been in every corner and alley to meet with a john or dealer. However she made a habit of only going out at night with her days spent in her ramshackle apartment. Amanda dropped by the building to find it was condemned. It wasn't surprising though druggies, prostitutes and stray animals all made a home there. The health codes were completely disregarded. The super was never seen; it was rumored that he moved out or was attacked and never left his apartment. In addition, the rent wasn't a problem. The super didn't ask and the landlord never visited. There weren't any good memories about the place but Amanda still felt a sting of nostalgia as she walked by.

Bored Amanda walked ventured into the suburban part of town. She rarely saw suburbs since she was a kid. It was cleaner and less violent. She walked through the streets feeling incredibly out of place. She kept her face hidden the best she could so no one could identify her. Halfway down the street she noticed a car parked in a driveway. It was a small black car that had a police tag on it. She looked at it and realized it was Hoffman's car.

Amanda decided to drop by for a visit. She hadn't seen or talked to Hoffman since he bailed her out and they had a lot to catch up on. John's legacy had to continue but Amanda and Hoffman always had trouble getting along. Hoffman had already established a relationship with John when Amanda joined them. John had trained him to monitor and make tests for their subjects. His work as a cop was important to him so he was rarely around after he learned everything. John ended up doing most of the work and research until Amanda came along. It took Amanda a longer time to understand the scope of John's work. She wasn't as grounded as Hoffman was. Hoffman had animosity. Amanda had too many emotions. She became attached to John and taking care of him as opposed to doing work. Hoffman on the other hand acted when he to and didn't spend too much time learning about John. They in turn hated each other for not doing the other part. Without John, Hoffman and Amanda couldn't make it working alone but when they got past their differences they made a good team. Kerry's trap wouldn't have happened unless Hoffman helped Amanda place Kerry in the trap, made the tape and dropped the key from above. Troy's trap was also a result of Hoffman and Amanda's teamwork. They both needed to help each other drag Troy in and put all the chains. Hoffman again worked the tape because his voice was closer to Jigsaw's then but another tape in when he went back in to investigate and Amanda wired the bomb and welded the door shut.

Hoffman was trying to bake a cake with Corbett when the doorbell rang. He had Corbett wait on the couch because he still didn't trust the little girl near the kitchen by herself. At the last minute Corbett reminded Hoffman he was covered in flour. He dusted off his face and opened the door. "Amanda? What are you doing here?"

"I needed to talk to you. When did your hair get white?" Amanda said.

Hoffman shook his hair. "It's flour. I was trying to bake something."

"Using your head? Never mind that. I came here because I was curious about the mystery body they found in the sewer. You know anything about yet?"

Hoffman stepped out of the house so Corbett wouldn't hear him. "I know that you did it if that's what you're asking."

"Impressed? I found Cecil buried near John's old workshop. I figured if you found it you'd remember there's other work you need to do."

"I'm not doing it anymore. John's work is over. He died, Amanda. I have other responsibilities now. "

"You mean that girl you kidnapped? The only reason she's orphaned is because you helped kill her parents. What did you tell her when she asked about them?"

Hoffman closed the door and pulled Amanda away from the house. "She doesn't even know they died. I'm taking care of her to make up for that. I'm not going to tell her until she's ready to hear it. It'll traumatize her. Unlike you I know what it's like to lose someone you really cared about. I know how terrible that feels."

Amanda was furious to hear him say that. Hoffman never really understood what John meant to her. John was her savior. He was the closest to father she ever had. To say that she didn't lose some she cared about was insulting. Taking the risk of getting arrested again Amanda slapped Hoffman. "I did lose somebody! I lost John and I could have stopped it! I was supposed to take that bullet not him. I gave everything to him and did everything for him! I chose not to take a second chance at life to be with him. John was my only family. It killed me to lose him. You say you have feelings and I don't well this is the first time I've seen them. I made a promise to John to carry work on after he died. Now I'm going to keep that promise. These games aren't over and you're either with or against me. I should warn you though, that if you're against me you shouldn't get too attached to that little girl. Betrayal doesn't go over to well with me."

Hoffman couldn't think of anything to say. He looked back at the house and saw Corbett watching him in the window like she always did whenever he left the house. Corbett was too important to him to leave behind for John's work. It really was over though. The police were watching Amanda so Hoffman was sure she wouldn't risk her freedom for that. "Amanda give up. It's over." Hoffman said and he walked away back to Corbett, his new reason to live.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter up but I needed to fix the plot to fit some events that I decided to include later in the story. It shouldn't take this long for the next chapter to get up. Meanwhile please enjoy this chapter.

**Chapter 6**

Corbett, overflowing with innocence, smiled at Hoffman when he walked through the door. "I saw you out there with that lady. Is she your girlfriend?"

"Amanda? No. She's just my friend." Hoffman picked Corbett up and sat her on the counter. He went to the trash can and tried to dust the rest of the flour on his head into the trash can. Corbett started to shake Hoffman's hair.

"I can keep a secret. I know she's the one in trouble so if you don't want people to know you like her I won't tell."

Hoffman smiled. "Corbett, just because I talked to a woman doesn't mean I like her."

"Whatever you say but my mommy all spent her time with a guy named Chris and they started dating."

Hoffman lifted his head up. "I though your parents were married."

"They are. My mom just had a boyfriend too. I thought was weird too but mommy explained it to me one day when he visited. She said they were close friends. But I saw them kissing later. See, I know something about relationships."

"Okay, I believe you. You don't have a boyfriend of your own do you?"

"No I don't. I'm only eight, silly." Corbett smiled and Hoffman smiled back.

"I was just checking. I wouldn't have like it if you had a boyfriend though."

"Marky, I think I'm too young for you."

Hoffman was about to say he didn't mean it the way Corbett thought but her bright smile and twinkling eyes convinced him to leave things as they were. He knew she didn't really like him. It was Stockholm syndrome. It would pass. "Ok, Corbett. We should finish making the cake."

Corbett got right back into baking. "I used to bake a lot with mommy before Dylan died. I miss her."

Swallowing his guilt Hoffman said, "I'm sure she'll be just fine. Her and your father."

It was night. Rigg was at home with his wife, Tracy. They had just finished dinner and were in the living room trying to find something to do. Rigg was looking for something to watch on TV. Flipping through the channels all he saw were stale dramas, odd reality shows, kid's cartoons, bad sitcoms and of course news programs filled with released information on the Jigsaw case. He ended up helping his wife with her work as a wedding planner. It always puzzled Rigg as to why Tracy wanted to make money helping brides pick from two similar bouquets with prices but it made her happy. Besides Tracy questioned why Rigg wanted to break into crack house and risk his life but it made Rigg happy, most of the time, so they always called it even. Shortly after arguing the differences between bridal gowns someone rung the door bell and Rigg got up to answer.

Standing at the door was Eric. He pulled himself together and looked half decent. He was back in his normal attire, a black t-shirt and jeans. On one foot he wore a navy blue sneaker. About there was where the normalcy of his clothes stopped. Eric was still wearing Jigsaw's brace. It was modified and cleaned but it was no doubt the one Jigsaw gave Eric. The metal was clean and polished. The leather straps were replaced. Finally foam was glued to the inside of the boot. His hair was still long and in fact brushed his stubble covered chin.

"Eric! What are you doing here?" Rigg asked, "And where's your crutch?"

"The crutch was starting to numb my arm so I left it. I can walk fine with out though."

"Alright. Get in here before you fall over." Rigg leaned Eric on to his shoulder and brought him into the kitchen. He put Eric's foot up on to another chair. He went over to get coffee and called Tracy. Tracy came in and hugged Eric when she saw him.

"Eric I was wondering when you were going to stop by." Tracy said.

"Hope I didn't come in to soon." Eric said.

"No. You know you're welcome here anytime. How's everything?"

"Alright. The doctor gave me some medicine to dull the pain in my foot. He said my ankle wasn't stable or something like that. Either way in doesn't matter, at least I'll be able to walk again."

"That's a real miracle, Eric." Tracy said. "You know they were showing pictures of the damage that the hospital released. It must have taken a lot of willpower to do that."

"It was just the circumstances. I don't like admitting it. Actually I don't think anyone wants to admit it but Jigsaw did actually help people. If it was for this brace I wouldn't have gotten any use of my foot back."

Rigg sat down and passed out the coffee. "I don't know about that. I mean Jigsaw was a serial killer. He was the textbook description of one. A lot of people died; I'll see that before I see any good out of him."

"Your opinion." Eric said as a rebuttal.

"My opinion? He took your son. He killed Kerry and Tapp and Sing. I was right there when that cage went off and broke Mitch's legs. He's trying to get rid of everyone."

"Rigg! Calm down. You're being paranoid." Tracy got up from the table. "I'm going to finish setting up this wedding I'm working on. You guys can argue with out me. Eric, you're welcome to stay the night so you don't have to make the trip back."

"Thanks, Trace. Looks like I'm staying here tonight." Eric lay back in his chair.

"Wait a minute. Is that why you're over here to spend the night?"

Eric took a sip of his coffee before answering because he knew Rigg would be mad at him. Rigg wasn't fond of Eric's choice to keep Amanda around and admitting he wanted to get away from her wouldn't help prove his point. It was a simple matter of irony and karma. He hurt Amanda. His new, or at least slightly changed, view of life told him to help her out. Beating people wasn't going to work anymore. It didn't work when it mattered most and wouldn't work now. He wanted to try helping her maybe it would work. Instead of trying to explain to Rigg the details of his plan Eric said, "Amanda got home before I did. I'm not going back inside that apartment until I get my gun back from work tomorrow."

Art sat in the jungle green armchair posed in the corner of his study. He was staring emptily at the phone. It reminded him of the high school days when he would wait at the phone to see if a girl was going to call him. However these circumstances were different. He wasn't waiting for a call but instead he was trying to will himself to make a call. In his effort to bring down Amanda as a serial killer he needed every piece of evidence, every anecdote, and every possible clue that would help him win. It wasn't just his reputation that he was trying to improve with this call however. It also carried a deep personal attachment.

Art wanted to call Jill. They were close friends at one time. Maybe not best friends but close in other ways. That's why he kissed her that one afternoon. There was certain chemistry between them; an unspoken attraction. In his mind the kiss wasn't completely inappropriate or at least that's what he told himself to keep him from being driven crazy by it. He thought that it was destined to happen between him and Jill just not at that time. Thinking about it was making him crazy again so he told himself it was okay; that he did nothing wrong and he was at peace again. Then he remembered he still had to call Jill.

Art continued to look at the phone. It was tedious even intimidating to see that phone in that corner. He braced himself and picked it up he looked at the number pad and slowly dialed each number. He waited, listened to the ring on the other end of the line and just a second before Jill would pick up the phone he slammed it down on the receiver. _Just like high school._ He thought, _just like high school._

Art didn't want to delay it though. He looked at the phone, hit redial and took deep breaths waiting for Jill to answer and when she did he almost passed out. Remembering the professional aspects of the call he toughened up and said, "Jill, it's Art. Don't hang up. I don't care if you talk to me or not. But some things have gone unsaid for too long and I think that I should just tell you what I have to tell you okay?"

The other end was silent.

"Ok. I know why you won't talk to me. I know you think I'm a bad guy but you have to understand. It felt like the right moment. You don't pass up chances like that."

A long pause. Art stayed on the line. She wouldn't answer right away but he just knew she would. Five minutes went by. Feeling like an idiot, he almost hung up the phone then heard Jill say. "Wait, Art."

Art's heart almost stopped. "What it is?" He replied. He thought he sounded like a jerk saying that but didn't want to further prolong Jill's words.

"I don't think it's in my best interest to talk to you. I don't know what I want right now." Art turned his head. He hoped she didn't think he was hitting on her. "Art," Jill continued "You took advantage of me and I know you are going to do it again. I just know it. I won't help you put Amanda in jail."

"Jill, you do understand that she's a murderer?"

Jill sighed. "I know that but a lot is going on Art, more than you can understand. I just learned that John was murdered. I learned that the one man I truly loved is gone forever. It's crazy but I still love him. I don't know too much about Amanda Young but I know one thing she was like a child to John. Again maybe I'm not making the right choice but I know that John wouldn't let his daughter go to jail and he certainly wouldn't like it if I let her go to jail. So I can't help you."

"Jill! I don't what to say."

"There's nothing left to say art. I won't help you or forgive you. I don't want you in my life."

Art was at a lost for words. He hung up the phone before Jill could say anymore. It was really over. Jill was the last person he could count on to help turn Amanda in. If she didn't want to then what could he do? He sat around for a second. Devious thoughts entered his mind. He was a high powered lawyer with the city's resources in his hand at his disposal. He could make her life hell if she wouldn't cooperate. But how far was he willing to go to send someone to jail?

Eric grumbled and groaned in the bed and the flung himself up. He shook his head around throwing his long brown locks out of his sight. He remembered he was spending the night at Rigg's until he got back to work. He stood up looking around for his clothes. He had a habit of sleeping in his underwear and throwing his clothes in random places. Rigg and Eric were roommates so Rigg was used to it but it bothered Tracy a little.

A phone slammed out side of the door and he looked through the door. He heard the muffled yells of Rigg. "How could they do this? I was just doing my job as a cop. This is outrageous."

Eric put on his pants and shirt and walked out side. "What's outrageous?"

"The damn commissioner has suspended me pending an IA investigation. They're accusing me of tampering with Amanda's case." Rigg said

"Were you?" Tracey asked.

"I was helping out Mr. Blanc. He's the prosecutor and he was saying how he needed my help. I'm out until the case is closed and the investigation is complete! Can you believe this?!"

Eric shrugged. "I've dealt with IA before they'll harass you for a couple of months then back off. Don't worry."

"What am I going to do about the case then? Someone needs to get the facts in order."

Eric laughed. "Rigg. I've known you how long? You're looking at a detective right here. I mean they might have been accusing you because they think that because you aren't a detective and you have a personal tie in it you would warrant a mistrial. I'll keep tabs while you're gone."

"I'll trust you on this but don't hurt yourself."

"Got it." Eric said. "I'll clean my stuff up and get going."

"You're not changing you're clothes?" Tracey asked.

"My crazy roommate is still at home. She at home with knives so no."

Eric cleaned up the room he stayed. He fixed the bed took a shower and combed his hair. After getting a piece of toast for breakfast he swallowed the pain pills. Rigg tested him to make sure he could drive and sent him off.

When Eric made his official return to the station he was welcomed back with open arms. It was most likely an act of sympathy. Next to Rigg and Kerry almost everyone else was afraid of him. He was no stranger to temper tantrums and outbursts of rage causing everyone to avoid him. The Chief and Internal Affairs even restored him to his previous position as a field detective instead of leaving him with deskwork. Another act of sympathy and publicity since he was temporarily disabled. Lastly they returned to Eric his gun and badge. The eternal symbols of an active police officer, Eric never felt whole without them.

Even though Eric was back in work as a full detective he was still tied down to the office. Even worst he was partnered up with a rookie detective named Kate. Having a partner wasn't too bad. Eric enjoyed working with Kerry but the problem was Kate herself. She was overexcited and overeager. She was the type of person who plans to go in cases head first and have everything go her way. In a police station that wasn't a good idea since most of the times things can take a terrible turn.

Eric sat on the edge of the desk in the main squad room. He finally got out of the redesigned supply closet that he was confined in with Kerry. For the past half hour he was waiting for Kate who mysteriously vanished into the file room. When she returned she was carrying several boxes.

"Okay, here's all the stuff on the Jigsaw cases." Kate said.

"Great." Eric replied "Why do we have them?"

"To find out who the secret apprentice is."

"That's not our case. We're supposed to connect these robberies together."

"I know but if we solve it we can help close the case completely we'll go down in history as the people who closed the Jigsaw case."

Eric took the boxes back from Kate. "Sorry to disappoint you but I've had enough of being attached to Jigsaw. The old man's dead. His protégé is awaiting trial and there's only circumstantial evidence that there's another helper involved. Now I'm going to put these back. You can put together these robberies." Kate dropped in the chair and looked back to the robbery cases.

When Eric got to the storeroom he saw a little girl looking threw some of the boxes. She was still young maybe eight and had long brown hair. He placed the rest of the boxes on the table and kneeled down to the girl's level. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for my friend." The girl said.

"Your friend? I can probably help you find them. What's their name?" Eric asked calmly. The girl didn't seem too scared though. She was actually quite friendly.

"Mark Hoffman."

"As a matter of fact I know exactly where he is. Do you want to follow me up there?" The little girl eagerly agreed. As Eric walked the girl to Hoffman's office she talked freely about everything. She said her name – Corbett, where she lived, her favorite things do. She also talked quickly managing to squeeze in all of it in a five minute ride up the elevator and walk to Hoffman's office. When they got in the office Corbett ran to Hoffman jumped in his lap while he sat.

"How did you get here?" Hoffman asked.

"I took a taxi." Corbett replied

"What happened to your tutor?"

"I told her she could go so she left. Now I can spend the day with you."

"Corbett, you can't stay here. I'm going to call back that tutor and you are going back home."

Corbett started to whine. "Please. I don't want to stay with her. I can help you out here. Please?"

Hoffman shook his head no. "I need to get some things straight here. You can't just come down here whenever you want. I have work to do and you need to stay with your tutor so you don't fall behind in your schooling. Also you're going to bed at eight from now on. I can't stay with you all night because I have to be here in the morning."

"But that's not fair! I won't see you when you get home!"

"I'm sorry but I'll be home on weekends so you'll still see me."

"It's not the same! I hate you!" Corbett jumped from Hoffman's lap and stormed out of the office. Hoffman sat in his chair. It was heart-breaking to see her runoff much less hear that he hates him.

Eric laughed, "Don't beat yourself up. All kids say that especially when they get to being teenagers. She'll get the idea soon. I'll go watch her for you while you call that tutor."

"Yeah. Thanks." Hoffman muttered. Eric went after Corbett and Hoffman decided to sulk more. If it wasn't for his and the tutor's plans he would have simply readjusted his rules. He wanted to just to see Corbett smile again but it was in her best interest to change things.

Eric came back to the apartment at the end of the day. He looked around and saw Amanda standing over the counter holding a knife. He creeped into the kitchen. Amanda looked at him with a big grin. "Eric." She giggled. "You didn't come home last night. I was worried." She stabbed it into the cutting board. "Or maybe I wasn't."

Eric looked at Amanda. Her hair was unkempt. Her eyes were wide and clueless. When she talked all of her words flowed together. She hardly seemed balanced and was about to fall over. _Oh, great. _Eric thought. _She's drunk._

"Amanda. Put the knife down." Eric said.

"No! I like this knife." Amanda giggled again. She placed the knife on her wrist. "Do you think I'll do it?"

Eric shook his head. "No. I don't" he walked closer and closer to her. Back to his police training. Approach armed people slowly. Don't anger them. Have your own weapon ready. When Eric got close enough to grab the knife in her skin. Eric crept even closer. He grabbed Amanda's wrist. He tried to pull the knife away but she wouldn't let go. Eric pulled the knife up so neither one of them could get hurt. After twisting and turning for a few seconds, Eric squeezed her wrist hard enough to make her drop the knife. With that out of the way he grabbed her and restrained her. Eric grabbed her and pushed her to the couch. He turned her over and pinned her down placing handcuffs on her so she wouldn't move.

Amanda wriggled around and giggled the whole time. "Eric, I don't think we're close enough for you to be handcuffing me and you hurt my leg."

"I'm restraining you." Eric clarified. Amanda kept giggling and he got off of her careful not to hit her with his leg. He checked the kitchen to see what exactly she had been drinking. Beer bottles filled the trashcan. A half drunk bottle of sherry sat on the counter. Surrounding the cutting board was a bottle of vodka, Worcestershire sauce, tomato juice, lemon and celery. Amanda was fixing up a Bloody Mary when he came in. Eric advised, "You might as well go to sleep. I'm not letting you out until-" He turned to face her but she had passed out. Mercifully he put a pillow under head and threw a blanket over her. After trying to readjust the blanket so it would cover her appropriately without him having to touch her Eric left it alone and started to clean up the mess in the kitchen.

Amanda woke up the next morning with a hangover. It wasn't her first but it wasn't used to it either. The headaches stomach aches, dizziness nausea. It was a killer side effect to alcohol. Amanda was aware that her lack of self-control often put her in to the situations but she was also aware that if it wasn't for Hoffman she wouldn't have done it in the first place. While she tried to recuperate the blender in the kitchen started to go. Whirring grinding, and the newly heard sound of frying was all in her ears tormenting her. Of course it was Eric trying to cook. She tried to throw a pillow when she remembered that she was till on handcuffs.

"Eric turn that damn blender off!"

"Eric went on. Smiling and humming as if he couldn't hear. "I'm serious. Turn it off!" Eric continued to run the blender until the sound turn to a simple whirring noise. Infuriated Amanda started at the handcuffs.

Eric in the kitchen was fixing a breakfast that he tailored specifically for hangovers. A banana smoothies, eggs, and water. And bread. It was very helpful it cutting down the effects but the need to use a blender and to fry food makes it less than ideal for someone who's hung over to make themselves. He smiled not because he was feeling happy for helping but at out of spite. Any moment to make Amanda cringe was a moment worth taking advantage of. As he finished preparing the spread then he started on another plate for himself. As he was finishing of both things he watched Amanda wriggle around uselessly. He brought the food down to the coffee table and sat down next to Amanda. "Sleep good?"

"No! I was handcuffed." Amanda complained.

"That's your own fault. You're never going to get out of those by the way."

'Whatever you say." Amanda went on twisting and turning laughably. For second it appeared as if she was going to go through the middle of the cuffs.

"Here eat." Eric gave Amanda the plate of food. "It'll help you out with that hangover.

"No thanks. It's probably laced."

Eric put the food off to the side. "It's not. I wouldn't want to get rid of you." Amanda looked at him curiously. "What I mean is your company. It's boring to come home to quiet every night. You make things more. You really should eat something though. I promise it's not poisoned."

Amanda continued to struggle with her handcuffs. "Why do you care about me so much anyways? I almost killed you and Daniel."

"I don't care about you. Daniel on the other hand, he's never going to talk to me again. The last thing I said to him was to go back to his mother. Even if he wanted me to be okay I doubt he would still want to be around me."

"Eric, I'm pretty sure you've heard this before but," Amanda stopped talking and pulled her arms back one more time. She let out a high pitched squeal and there was a snap. She moved her arms forward and dropped the handcuffs in to Eric's hands. "You should never say never and thanks for making breakfast."

Eric looked at the mangled handcuffs. He looked at the handcuffs surprised. Amanda was much stronger than she appeared or maybe the handcuffs were made of cheap materials. He was sure it was the latter but hoped it wasn't true. It gave him a slim hope that if Amanda could break through the handcuffs. Maybe Daniel would break his silence.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Just a brief note, Rigg is temporarily written out of the story starting in this chapter and he doesn't make a return until the end of the story. Jill takes his place until then.

**Chapter 7**

Amanda's trial was still weeks away. There were no more leads or evidence to examine and without Rigg as an assistant it was impossible to find more. Art finally gave up on searching for answers instead retuning to his old cases. Sometimes he was the prosecutor. Sometimes he was the defense attorney. To practice for Amanda's trial, Art tried his skills as a prosecutor. Just like before it took a few cases for him to get a hold of it but once he knew what he was doing he excelled at it.

Out of work Art still tried to get in touch with Jill. He no longer tried to get her to testify against Amanda. Art needed to befriend Jill. He knew the only way to do that was by accepting she didn't want to disrespect John. Getting in the same room as her was much more complex. He tried an arrest warrant for obstruction of justice. The judges decline it though saving she offered enough usable evidence through what was taken from interrogations. It even back fired a little as all evidence taken from Jill was promptly returned. His nest attempt was a lot more effective and clever. When he searched through his old cases he saw that one that could completely take Jill by surprise. It was the urban renewal project. John had left the project in Art's hands. If Jill was true when she said she was devoted to John and keeping him happy after death, she would want to keep it going to make one of John's dreams a success.

Lacking the hesitation of his previous call, Art called Jill to inform her of his find. She no longer answered him; most likely because she got caller ID and avoided picking up the phone when he called. In any case he left a message saying that he had an important matter concerning John's final wishes. After a half hour Jill called back, she didn't bother with a greeting. "Art, why are you calling me? I thought we were done talking."

"If you got my message you should know." Art replied.

"John's lawyer already dealt with his will. There's nothing left."

"As a matter of fact there's one matter left unsettled: the urban renewal project. You have John's share. I have the rest. We both lost a great amount in this project. The community itself took a blow. Forty families were displaced after it dismantled. I was hoping you would be kind enough to consider restarting the project."

"Restarting it? I don't want to take another gamble in one of your business deals."

Art laid back in his chair. "It would be in John's honor. A memorial for him. He wasn't always a bad guy. He fell off the right path but he always tried to help others. I want to do this to preserve that side of him."

"Art." Jill went silent. She was still opposed to helping Art but she had the same idea. She wanted to make a memorial dedicated to John but couldn't think of where to put it or what it would be of. She considered the clinic but Art's idea was better. It was a personal project of John and she was sure John would appreciate it. "I'll help you. We'll meet at the old Chinese restaurant John use to take us to."

Art smiled. He was making progress. "Meet you there."

Hoffman came home at eleven with a sack of toys. He was still upset over what happened with Corbett and figured one way to fix it was to buy her a lot of toys. He went to three toy stores getting everything she asked for save for expensive thing he wanted to hold off on until Christmas. When he got home he pulled the bags out thinking he looked like Santa Claus. Thankfully the tutor was still there. Hoffman was sure that Corbett wouldn't go on an angry rampage but he's seen the movies where things gone wrong and he was glad the tutor could stay to watch her.

Hoffman rang the doorbell. He had too many toys to open the door himself. The tutor came and opened the door for him. "I was wondering where you went." She said.

"Sorry. Corbett was angry so I went on a guilt-induced shopping spree to buy her toys. Why did you let her go anyways?"

The tutor started bringing the bags of toys in for Hoffman "I didn't. She said she was taking a nap and I saw she was asleep in her bed. Half an hour later she's here in a taxi grumbling. I'm sorry. I tried to keep an eye on her."

"It's okay. She's did something similar when her aunt and uncle took off. So what did you think about her?" Hoffman asked.

The tutor shrugged, "I didn't see anything different than what you told me. She doesn't seem bothered by her parent's absence. I also noticed she's very outgoing. I can't give you much aside from that."

"All right. I don't want to keep. I'll see you later Michelle."

"Bye."

Hoffman peaked in Corbett's room. She was sound asleep. Or at least she looked sound asleep. He was aware some kids would pretend to sleep if they were up past their bedtimes and eavesdropping. He went back to the living room and examined everything he bought. There were stuffed animals and plush toys. He wasn't exactly sure the difference between a plush toy and a stuffed animal. Much less the difference between a human shaped plush toys and dolls. They looked like dolls to him. Strangely though the dolls to him resembled action figures. They had a bunch of accessories to them and were battery operated a departure from the toys he was familiar with. Hoffman knew that Corbett would explain if he asked.

Afterwards Hoffman looked at the price of it all. The grand total was over 300 dollars. He almost went into shock. He reviewed everything once more looking at the prices and the items. He didn't even notice how much money he spent; he just went in the store and bought the toys. In his life Hoffman only recalled spending that much money on a single person once. It happened in college when he asked his girlfriend to marry him. The ring cost 400 dollars and she said yes but they broke up three days later when the realized they didn't care for each other. Hoffman's girlfriend kept the ring to sell it. There wasn't much he could do for the rest of the night so he covered the toys and went to sleep.

Morning came quick. It was a terrible feat to sleep through the night knowing Corbett was still mad. There were thousands of people in the world. A good hundred people were mad at him. Some for putting them away, some rivals, some were girlfriends and women whose hearts he broke. Not to forget the loved ones of his subjects that were in mourning. But Corbett? It was unseen, unwanted.

Hoffman went to her door and knocked. She was awake but didn't say anything to him. Eventually he couldn't take it anymore and barged into her room. "Corbett, I've had enough of this silent treatment. I'm sorry for yelling at you but there are rules that you need to follow here. I know it's mean but please forgive me?"

Hoffman sat down next to her. "No? Why not?"

Corbett shrugged. "I don't want to."

"Why? It's not bad having rules."

"I know. It's just that my parents were always strict but they never even watched me. Every time something bad happened they'd blame it on me or each other. It wasn't fair. I thought that now I wouldn't have to worry about that with you. I thought that now I wouldn't have someone yelling at me all the time."

"It was one time. I won't make a habit of it. You know I only was trying to help us both out. I need to work to keep the house and to buy food. You need to sleep."

"I know. I was just hoping this time would be different."

Hoffman held Corbett close. "I know. But if I'm going to take care of you, things can't be too different. Although, I got you something you might like. Follow me."

Hoffman got off the bed and took Corbett with him. He covered her eyes and led her to the living room. He said he had a surprise and moved his had away from her eyes. She lit up. Her eyes cute and adorable. She wasn't angry. She hugged him first. Then she said thank you a hundred times as she took out all of her toys. Hoffman watched her happily while she poked through the bag. It was like Christmas came early.

Amanda sat in the kitchen at the small card table with a layer of classified ads covering the entire surface. She had a red highlighter capped in her hand. She was carefully scanning everything to see how many jobs she could find that suit her. So far there was nothing. Eric walked out of the bedroom. They had an agreement to share the room for cleaning and changing clothes. Otherwise Eric still slept on the couch and Amanda in the bed with a light on. "Good morning. What are you doing up this early?"

"It's only 8." Amanda replied.

"That's early for you. So what are you lookin' for? A new house, maybe?"

"I wish. But for your information I'm looking for a job."

"It's a start. Find anything?"

"No. That's why I said I was _looking_ for a job." Amanda remarked.

"Just taking an interest. I'm going to head off now."

"See you later." Amanda went right back to focusing on the jobs. She turned to another page staring down the tiny print filled description boxes.

"Try something simple. A receptionist or janitor. You'll be there forever looking for a good job." Eric advised before leaving. Amanda nodded and showed a simple thumb's up.

Eric came in the squad room fairly early. Only a few detectives were around but they had stayed overnight to close a case. He sat at his desk and started to reorganize the desk since it was left with various scraps from yesterday's case. When he worked with Kerry their workplace was always a mess. Between the two of them he was a neat freak. Kerry always explained that she thought better when things were all spread in front of her. Kate was almost the same way. She was unorganized but it wasn't for thinking. It was just the way she was. Eric could think of endless downsides of having Kate as a partner. One reason was she was always late like today.

When Kate finally came in they started to work on the robbery case. The details of the case were simple. A suburban house was robbed midday. They had several suspects. Most previous robbers other enemies of the family. Eric and Kate were left to find out who did it and what happened to the stuff. It wasn't half as occupying as it seemed. Most cases like this just slipped away. It was either overshadowed by a more important case or in this situation left behind by the detectives. Eric and Kate both realized they were getting nowhere and left it to another detective to solve. Kate went back to "solving the Jigsaw case" despite it already being solved and Eric took a nap. Eric woke up in time for his lunch break. Amanda had fixed him lunch. She didn't give any reason why so he just hoped it wasn't poisoned. Amanda always seemed to being watching over Eric and taking care of him.

Halfway through lunch Detective Fisk rushed out of Hoffman's office. "Eric! There was a homicide we need you to come with us!"

Eric turned back in the chair. "That's the homicide's job. I'm on the robbery side." The department's detective division was split oddly. Robbery was grouped with homicide. Occasionally detectives were borrowed from either side. Eric had the luck of being put on the robbery side.

"You have to go." Fisk said, "Captain Hoffman is putting you on this case." Eric also had the luck of Hoffman as a captain. "He said it was of particular interest to you."

"Fine. If it's that important I'll go."

The crime scene unit and medical examiner had already arrived when Eric came to the scene. He went straight to the site of the murder, the master bedroom. On the bed was a man in his 40's or 50's with several stab wounds around his neck. Aside from blood soaked sheets the room was clean. There was no sign of forced entry at all. It appeared to be a hit. Get in, kill and get out all without leaving a trace.

"Why am I here?" Eric asked Hoffman once he walked in. "This isn't another trick, is it?"

"No one's calling you out this time." Hoffman replied. He handed Eric a picture frame. "But I was wondering if this looked familiar to you."

The picture was of a young girl. She was at least eight years old. She had brown hair and green eyes. She was dressed in a royal blue dress that was close to the sky blue background of the picture. Eric looked hard. The girl looked very familiar. It was eerie.

"Is it Amanda?"

"Yeah and the stiff on the bed is her father, Howard Young. He worked in a sheet metal plant until retiring. Only a few friends not close with the neighbors. We're interviewing to see what we'll find."

"I still don't see why I'm here."

"The only person we have as a suspect is Amanda. She's got the motive, the resources. Time of death was estimated as 3 am. I need to know where she was at that time. If she doesn't have an alibi we can put her under arrest." Hoffman said.

"She was passed out drunk at home." Eric replied. "We need evidence before I put her under arrest. What do we have?"

Hoffman led Eric to the backyard. CSU investigators were swarming the backyard. There was even an animal control officer restraining a dog that was running around. The yard was full of lush green grass except near the fence. The shadow from the sunroom prevented good sunlight from reaching the grass creating a damp and muddy area. Firewood was stacked near by the fence that was apparently grounded by the dog. Otherwise there was a garden and a few trees.

"Wilson!" Hoffman called. A lean man holding a clipboard came over. "Could you go over what you found with us?"

"Yes, sir. Over by the fence here. We found…well…I'll show you."

They walked over by the fence. Wilson pointed to the muddy area below the fence. "See the smear there? We think there were footprints here but who ever came by tried to erase the print. Also, there were scraps of fabric on the fence."

Wilson pointed out the wire on the fence. "We're guessing that the prep climbed over but they wore gloves so their hands wouldn't get scratched."

"You think Amanda Young did this?" Eric asked almost threateningly. He caught himself so that instead of appearing to care for Amanda he would appear to be scaring Wilson.

"We won't know until all evidence is collected." Wilson said intimidated. He looked over to Hoffman who was threatening as well and said. "But she's our best guess."

Hoffman and Eric exchanged glances. "I won't arrest her until I have better proof." Eric said.

Hoffman shrugged. "it won't take too long before that happens. By the way I fixed things with Corbett."

"Really, what happened?"

"I bought her a bunch of toys."

Eric started to laugh. "Of course you did. You know Mark I think you need little help. Luckily, you know."

"Right. You're the model parent." Hoffman joked, "I'll take my own chances."

Outside a shopping center there was a medium sized Chinese restaurant. It was a casual eatery that dressed up fancy and specialized in mandarin cuisine. It was styled like a pagoda, almost standard for all Chinese restaurants nearby. There were the traditional gold dragon statues outside the restaurant. Inside wasn't any less stereotypical. Oriental vases and artwork decorated the places. Bamboo plants stood near the lobby. The only thing missing were Chinese waiters. The chefs were more than likely Chinese but everyone else looked American. It was laugh ably ironic as everything else was perfectly Chinese.

John was always an observer of Asian culture. He loved the food, the lifestyles and of course the beliefs. Everyone who worked with him knew to avoid any mention of the orient to John because he would continue on forever. Furthermore they avoided Chinese restaurants although he'd insist on having business meetings there. Even in his deteriorating state John still enjoyed Asian culture. As much as it bothered them before Art and Jill realized there would be no better place to begin their tribute to John than at his favorite restaurant.

Art and Jill sat across from each other silent. It was the first time they had been face to face for a long time but instead of making small talk by mentioning the changes over time they stayed quiet. It wasn't until after they order food before they spoke at all. Jill picked a folder out of a brief case she brought with her.

"I looked through the files John left with me. I found his design plans and blueprints." Jill said.

Art looked through the papers. He nodded in confirmation. "These are the same ones. The way the buildings were set up, the combination of materials. This was John's brainchild. I'm getting a good amount of money from my cases. We may need assistance from investors but otherwise I think we're good to go." He put his hand out.

Jill pushed Art's hand down and held it on the table. "I think there should be a few rules."

"Jill, you can trust me. There shouldn't be rules."

Jill pulled her hand away. "First don't lie to me. Don't make any passes at me and don't bother me with your trial. I just want to do this for John."

Art looked at Jill. He smiled at her. "Ms. Tuck, I promise this will a business deal only. I want to honor your husband and my friend. If you feel that we shouldn't do this I'll back out immediately,"

Jill didn't know if she should trust him. The main skill of a lawyer was knowing how to double talk. Art was especially good at double talk. He wouldn't have won the cases if he didn't do it. She thought for a moment. Ten years was a long time and she had reason to believe he wouldn't do it again. Reassured by his seriousness Jill shook Art's hand.

Amanda came home early. She picked the mail up on the way and looked through it. Junk mail. Junk mail. Eric's mail a.k.a. The Bills. Near the bottom of the stack was a postcard. There was a picture of a forest on the front. On the back there was no return address or message just a phone number. Amanda knew immediately who it was and dialed the number on her cell phone.

"Hi. It's me, Amanda… I'm okay. I talked to that friend of yours. He let me have the job…I never gave one before I have two…A panther and a flower…Listen, I can't thank you enough for this. No one else would hire me… I think he should know. He's getting worried…I'm not lying. The two of you keep going on like this and it's starting to drive me crazy. Just bite the bullet…All right, I'll see you later. Good luck."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Hurry up, Corbett. We have to be at Michelle's by eight or I'll be late for work." Hoffman called.

Corbett came into the kitchen with her backpack. "Why do I have to stay with her for the night?"

"I already told you. I'm having some friends over tonight. Michelle said she can watch you."

"But I shouldn't have to go because your friends are coming over. You stay when my friends are here."

"I stay to make sure you and your friends don't hurt yourself."

"I make sure you can your friends don't hurt yourself." Corbett pleaded.

"Me and my friends are adults; we can take care of ourselves."

"I'm not going!" Corbett sat down in front of the door determined not to leave.

Hoffman kneeled down to her level. He had gotten used to her outbursts and knew the best way to get her to agree was by bargaining. "Well if you do go I'll let you have that sleepover you've been begging me about."

"Really?" Corbett asked. Hoffman nodded. Corbett opened the door and almost ran out. "All right. Come on, let's go Mark. You'll be late for work."

Amanda and Eric's apartment was in an endless state of silence. They had much to say to each other but they had to keep things secret. Eric couldn't tell Amanda about the case. She was the prime suspect but Eric's muffled sense of respect kept him from telling her anything until he was sure. Amanda's problems started to form once she took the job offering. She didn't have to jump through hoops but it was a dangerous situation because if Eric knew how she learned about the job he would probably kick her out. Eric left without saying a word. Amanda stayed home and waited. At ten in the morning Amanda's guest arrived. He knocked on the door then let himself in.

"Amanda I'm here."

Amanda walked out of the bedroom. She had dressed herself up for almost no reason. They weren't leaving the house and at most they would only be talking for half an hour. "Daniel!" The two shared a short hug then sat on the couch. "You've grown a little since I've last seen you and you have a goatee."

"I try not to be recognized." Daniel said modestly.

"Yeah. It's hard. I don't think people understand how hard it is to think about. But you have it easy, people are suing me. If you didn't tell me about the job at the tattoo parlor I probably wouldn't have a job."

"It was a favor between friends. I guess." It was hard avoiding the silence. Daniel and Amanda didn't really have a history together. They couldn't chat about good times of the past or the whereabouts of mutual friends. In the closest thing they had to a mutual friend in the house was Laura. After Laura was Eric.

Amanda looked out to the balcony. "Your father…"

"I don't want to talk about him. He'll come to me if he wants to talk."

Amanda chuckled. "You are definitely his son. He says the same thing every time someone brings you up. Why is it?"

"He's always been a cop never a father." Daniel answered firmly. "Like I told you he'd send the whole world to look for me so he can yell at me for disappearing. I don't want to put up with it."

"Daniel, he risked his life for you. He put himself through hell and you don't care. If he yells at you then you deserve it."

"I didn't come here for you to scold me. I'll take you to the parlor just don't mention him."

"Fine. Let's go." Amanda said.

The ride to the parlor gave Amanda and another chance to look at Daniel and what he had become. He wasn't a seventeen year old delinquent anymore. He had just passed his twentieth birthday and skipped college to go in the military but later substituted that option to police work. Daniel told Amanda he wasn't trying to follow his father's foot steps but the course of events just happened to take him in that direction. Becoming an officer was a daunting process for Daniel. With half the country aware of whom he was it was hard for recruiters to think he was capable of handling the job. He had to take a job in a grocery store until he was accepted.

Daniel's personality had changed too. Amanda was only aware of the rumors though but they seemed mostly true. Opposed to his out of control behavior Daniel was now calm and level headed. He used to be outspoken but was now withdrawn. There was only one thing about Daniel that hadn't changed. A small thing that only seemed apparent to Amanda. He was heartbroken. His family was torn apart and it was stuck that way. Before Eric was captured there may have been hope for them; there was a chance they would get back together. With Eric's new brooding attitude and Daniel's hatred it was impossible. Amanda didn't like to admit when she failed. Yet seeing Daniel and living with Eric only reminded her that she didn't make anything better. It was the only test that made her upset to associate with Jigsaw. When they arrived at the parlor Amanda told Daniel good bye and told him she was sorry for everything that she had done to him. He in turn told her that he wanted to get her back at first but then he told Amanda he knew vengeance wouldn't get him anywhere. The moment was like an echo of John's last lesson. Before driving off Daniel told Amanda, "I forgive you."

Eric had a place where he could think uninterrupted. Like everything there were pros and cons. The main pro was its isolated and controlled environment. Special clearance was needed to get in and it was soundproof. Eric didn't have to worry about anyone coming in and interrupting his thoughts. The main downside was the place was a cell in the isolation ward for out of control suspects. Eric stumbled upon it while looking for the interrogation rooms his first year on the force. He took a wrong turn and found the hallway with 4 padded rooms. There were two-way mirrors on all of them so they could be observed. Almost like zoo animals in Eric's opinion. The section was long out of use because the department wasn't obligated to hold mentally unstable criminals. Eric got permission from the police commissioner to hold the key to one of the rooms and he was allowed to stay in the room from then on. Whenever life got to hectic he would go in his isolation room to rest.

The area was largely unchanged when Eric went back there. He was told some Jigsaw suspects were held there but not in his room. He saw why when he got there. It became a standing memorial to him. There were flowers and balloons inside and his named was on a plaque that dressed up the door. Eric was flattered by it. He didn't know anyone expect for maybe Rigg and Kerry would bother doing anything for him. He walked over to the bed. It was the same as he remembered. A thin mattress that managed to be hard as stone with knots of cotton in it adorned a shaky metal bed frame. Eric lay back on the bed. He pressed his hand against the wall. The padding was made of the same material of the bed. It didn't real soften the blows if someone was to run in to the wall but it did prevent any damage from being taken.

Eric wasn't a profound thinker in daily life. He was impulsive about everything and figured he could deal with the consequences later. In his thinking room however he was very structured. His thoughts followed a process. First he would evaluate his current situation. He was living with a serial killer. His son abandoned him. Kerry was gone. Rigg was distant. The person closest to him was his archenemy. Then he compared it to his previous situation. He lived alone. He only saw Daniel occasionally. Kerry was trying to force him back in police work. Rigg stuck by him and didn't give up helping him. Amanda was elsewhere. Lastly he would take the best from both to create an ideal situation. There lied the main problem. In his previous life he had his friends and family with him but they were all pulling away except Rigg. Now everyone except Amanda had left him. He had a chance to make his life all over again. Rebirth just like Jigsaw wanted.

It was frustrating to him. The only answer was that the sick old killer's ideas were right. He wouldn't accept it and screamed. He screamed so loud he that he was sure someone would here even through the soundproof walls. He didn't stop until his face was red and he felt dizzy. Then he hit the walls. Again he broke barriers plowing through the plush and making firm contact with the rough wall. He kept hitting the walls as they closed in on him. Eric panicked when he opened his eyes and saw a dimly lit room. A deathly stench creeped through the walls. A shallow bowl was in the corner licked clean of whatever culinary disaster was in it. Eric could only think of his losses as his mind raced. Then he fell to the ground. A team of officers surrounded him as his past horror faded back to the isolation ward of the department.

After a few hours of drug induced rest Eric left for home. He was groggy and weak. He was in doubt that he could drive but only thought about going home. Before walking out he crossed paths with Hoffman. "Hey, Eric. I heard what happened. You okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. I'll be heading home." Eric said.

"Okay. Take it easy."

Eric took two steps back then wheeled around. "The case. Did the results come in yet?"

"I think you should rest first. We'll talk about it tomorrow."

Eric scoffed then grinned in his own misfortune. "It's her, isn't? It's Amanda. Damn it! I knew I shouldn't have trusted her. She just took advantage of me! Don't worry. I'll arrest her. I'll make sure she gets put in jail and stays there. Just goes to show I shouldn't trust people. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Eric, wait a minute. Eric!" Hoffman tried to stop him but Eric was just too angry to notice.

The next day a celebration was being thrown at the Kramer Memorial Housing Project's base of operations. The team was celebrating the purchase of all of John's old residential properties. The purchase completed half of the project granted most of the house would be subjected to maintenance and code checks but it was better than starting from scratch. A mini-reunion was also in place as most of John's friends gathered around to talk about John and his accomplishments. Stories came from as far back as when John was in college. Art always knew John as serious man who was overprotective of Jill. However as stories would tell he wasn't always that way. Most people knew him as an eccentric and jolly man. It was the thought of having a family made John more serious.

Art stayed by the refreshment table sometimes walking around but always ending up at the table. He felt like an outsider. For years he thought he knew John better than anyone but he realized that he didn't know him much at all. Even though Art worked close with John they never went much into his personal life. Most of what he knew of John came from Jill. Art listened to Jill as she told stories to the crowd. Her stories had John as a man in his own world and she was his connection to the rest of the world. She finished by saying that even when John was completely out of his mind she didn't give up hope that he would someday return to normal. A round of applause followed then Jill worked her way back to meet with Art.

"Interesting little crowd, isn't it?" Jill said.

Art nodded, "Yeah. I didn't know John was still a popular man. I mean for his engineering work. Most people think he's a killer."

"John is a tragic hero. The average civilian only knows him as a killer. The media painted every one of his actions as torture. His family, his friends, we know the whole story. We know he suffered as much as anyone else. We know he was a tortured man. But no one considers it." Tears welled up in Jill's eyes. She stopped short from crying instead taking a breath. "I know everything. I was informed of everything."

"Amanda told you?" Art asked.

"It doesn't matter who told me. What matters is that I know everything that can help your trial and everything that can hurt it. The problem is I still don't trust you."

Art took a sip from his drink. He grinned at Jill. "The trial isn't on my mind right now. If you demoralize my role in this project then you can just say I want the money I lost from my last try with this project. I don't need a housing project to remember John by. I already have something from him." Art ran his fingers across the scar that came from the middle of his cheek to his lip. The tear of the stitches didn't cause the scar but instead a surgery gone wrong caused it. The stitches in his lip left small perforation scars as well as an infection. An inexperienced resident had suggested surgery to remove it. The same resident tried to perform the improvised procedure accidentally ripping through the side of Art's cheek. Art had the right mind to argue a malpractice suit. Afterwards the resident wasn't heard from again. Even though the scar wasn't a direct result of John's actions it wouldn't have happened if he didn't get tested. "John wasn't entirely fond of me after what happened. I don't blame him."

Jill smiled back at Art. "You passed his test. You earned his forgiveness…and mine."

"Really?"

"I can't stay mad at you forever."

Art decided to shake hands. "The beginning to a beautiful friendship."

Jill jerked Art's arm lightheartedly. "Not if you start quoting movies again."

They smiled at each other again then went back to the crowd to hear the rest of the stories.

Hoffman's poker game went without incident so it was time to live up his end of the deal with Corbett. He spent most of the day out shopping with Corbett. When they returned home they started to set up for the party. First the living room furniture was rearranged. Hoffman tried moving the couch around until Corbett decided to leave it alone and put the coffee table in the spare room which was being remade into Corbett's bedroom. Afterwards they made snacks together then set them out. Right afterwards the guests started arriving.

The stream of kids and parents came in a group. They had carpooled using two separate cars. The overflow wasn't a result of more children, a relief to Hoffman, but instead the result of visiting parents. After the kids joined together and start to tear up the house the parents greeted him and praised him for his work on the Jigsaw case. Ironically the case had been buried in his mind. He was to busy taking care of Corbett to notice much about what was happening in the community. It then came back to him that he had helped in the cases making it only a little harder to handle them. After most of them headed back towards the car Hoffman noticed a familiar face in the crowd. Alison Gordon.

Alison was more composed than when they first met. She was one of the few surviving victims that had moved on. "Hello, Detective Hoffman."

"Mrs. Gordon. It's nice to see you again." Hoffman replied with a hand shake.

"It's nice to see you. Diana's the one with the purple sleeping bag. Right over there."

"There she is. I should keep notes of this. I wouldn't want to get confused." Hoffman replied.

"She shouldn't be too much trouble." Alison lowered her voice. "Do you mind if we talk privately for a second?"

"Sure." Hoffman led her out to the dining room. It was a very formal and traditional room despite it not being used much. "What would you like to talk about?"

Alison hesitated. "I remember you saying Corbett doesn't know what happened to her parents."

"I didn't have the heart to tell her."

"You should tell her even if you don't think you can. Diana was already confident that Lawrence was leaving us. If I had waited to tell her what happened she would have thought he left us. I know about Corbett's family. You shouldn't hold off on telling her or she'll have a hard time later."

"Thank you. I have someone looking into it. There are some things I want to know beforehand so I know how to talk to her."

Alison nodded. The vans outside started to honk their horns. "I should get going. You're doing a great job with Corbett. It's almost like Jigsaw didn't get to her one bit." She said her good-bye then left.

Hoffman watched the children play in the living room. Alison's words hung in the air. _It's almost like Jigsaw didn't get to her…_ It wasn't true. Jigsaw did get to her. The nicer side of Jigsaw but it was him either way. Hoffman still hadn't decided whether or not to continue the legacy. He hoped that Amanda being arrested would change things. Maybe Amanda would give up and realize that it was over. But John's presence was still around. He was still watching. Waiting for the right time. The tapes never lied. The game had just begun.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **I have had a lot of time to work on this chapter so hopefully it's one of the better ones. Also this is the first of the last three chapters. The next two chapters are fairly short though so I will probably put them up at the same time.

**Chapter 9**

"Tonight on Full Disclosure Report: As the housing crisis worsens many are relying on public housing provided by the city, state and urban renewal groups. However one urban renewal group is stirring up controversy. The John Kramer Memorial Housing Project recently started on their first housing complex. The full project is planned to have several locations across the city to ease commuting. Each complex is designed to be environmental friendly and cost efficient. In addition security will be straight from the LAPD. So what's the controversy? The namesake of the building is the man you may know as the Jigsaw Killer..."

Art couldn't believe his eyes and ears. The entire program continued on ranting about the negative connotations John's name had on the project. It retold John's descent into Jigsaw starting at the cancer diagnosis. It barely mentioned John's old engineering feats and the heart breaking story of Gideon's miscarriage. The story also displayed Art as a greedy, deceitful lawyer that took bribes. The whole story seemed to be based on the various rumors surrounding his careers. Very few mentions were made on the project itself. It seemed like another excuse to retell the Jigsaw.

Full Disclosure Report was on its last leg before it scrounged up confidential details on the Jigsaw case. Afterwards it became the top authority on the Jigsaw killings as the case developed. Each week they had more mysteriously acquired information that was normally withheld to prevent impostors. Needless to say many psychos and fame seekers came out claiming they were the Jigsaw Killer until the LAPD investigated Full Disclosure Report. Afterwards the show lost a lot of its inside information and replaced it with upcoming criminal psychologists and theorists that commented on Jigsaw's M.O. and beliefs. Even now with the case closed Full Disclosure continued to hold on like a pit bull with a piece of meat. The show dedicated a half hour every week to the Jigsaw casein a segment called, "Puzzle Completed: The Countdown to the Jigsaw Trials." But no matter how much they cut back each moment of the show got under Art's skin.

"Next week on Full Disclosure Report: The state of the LAPD. After the Jigsaw Killer murdered several top officers the homicide department was halved. Can they pull together before the Jigsaw's accomplice appears in full swing? Also a statement from the FBI after the recent deaths of Special Agents Peter Strahm and Lindsey Perez."

Art clicked off the TV and threw the remote on the couch. He slouched over elbows on his knees. He went through his mail tossing everything useless. In the end there were only two items of interest: a magazine about city development and a small package. He leafed through the magazine first. A small column dedicated to the technical feats of the housing project was the most interest to Art. While he read the column the phone rang. He ignored the first rings before answering it. "Hello."

"Art, it's Jill. I just saw on TV there was a story about the housing project. It put down the entire thing."

"Yeah, I saw it. It's discouraging."

"Well, what are we going to do about it?" Jill asked.

"Jill, we don't have to anything. The project is funded by investors who aren't going to be swayed by editorials. There John's friends, our friends. We don't have to worry."

"Is it always about money? Art, the tenants! Most of them won't move into a place that supports a serial killer!"

Art sighed. "Jill, there's nothing I can do."

"Prove them wrong." Jill said "Make a press conference. Art, please for me?"

"I'll do my best. City hall doesn't just had out press conferences."

Jill thanked him then they both hung up. Art looked at the coffee table and saw on the stack of mail a package. When he received it he was just leaving to go to the party. Since he lost his taste for watching TV tonight he decided to open the package. It was a small thin rectangle wrapped in thin brown paper. Art could feel bumps and curves on it and a springy segmented row. He pressed down on a segment and with a rip the package opened. Art tore the rest of the of the paper and uncovered a tape recorder. He took the tape out and saw the ominous "Play me" written on the label. Shaking Art closed the recorder and played the tape.

"Hello, Art. If you are listening to this you have passed your test and I am long gone. I imagine you are wondering why you have received this tape. I don't believe you have passed your test. Many of live subjects are still failures. Are you still the same man or have you changed for the better? Prove me wrong, my friend. Go to Jill's drug clinic at the time on the back of the recorder. You will meet your fellow subjects. Let the game begin." The tape stopped abruptly.

Art was a torturing mix of emotions. Angry at the report for slandering his memorial. Frustrated at the tape for impersonating John. Scared at the disembodied voice that could only be John. It could very well be a copy cat but he was completely sure it wasn't. To amuse himself he flipped over the recorder and read the time. He was to meet with the others tomorrow night It was the beginning of the last test.

Eric drove around around town for a while before coming home he didn't want to do anything rash when he saw Amanda. He couldn't remember feeling so betrayed since his divorce. Eric had the nagging thought that maybe Amanda didn't do anything wrong but he didn't want to believe it. When he got to the door Eric tried to make himself presentable. He smoothed out his hair, took deep breaths then walked through the door. Amanda was lying on the couch watch TV.

"Hey, where were you?" Amanda asked.

"During." Eric replied.

"Okay. I was waiting around for you. I was going to order in dinner but I didn't know what you wanted."

Actually, I have to go back to work. I just need to tell you something." he spoke slowly and quietly. He wanted to be intimidating to Amanda. Eric wanted to interrogate her to make her break. He knew DNA never lied but people did. His interrogation would help decide if he was making the right choice. "It's about a murder I was working."

"A murder?" Amanda's voice quivered. "What about a murder?"

Eric sat next to her on the couch. He looked directly at her. "Do you know how the police find criminals Amanda?"

"Yeah. They look at evidence. Ask questions."

"Exactly. Jigsaw must have taught you something. We never caught you after all."

Amanda whipped her head to look at her. "Leave John out of this. I know this because of the way I was _wrongfully_ arrested. Now what murder I haven't heard anything about any murders on the news."

Eric shook his head. "That's because we've been hiding this one. It wasn't easy. The department practically went into debt trying to keep this out of the media. We even paid out those sleazy tabloids. In a way it was to protect you but that's over." Eric got up and turned off the TV. He turned back to her smirked. Amanda remained well-composed on the couch. It was time for her to crack. "We found your father, dead. He was stabbed multiple times. It was a bloody mess. I bet you would have loved to see it. But I guess you did. You're the one who murdered him, aren't you?!"

"I didn't kill anybody!" Amanda objected. She stood up to come face to face with him.

"It doesn't matter. You're DNA was there. You have motive. You have no alibi. Let's not forget your pending trial. Any jury will convict you."

The coffee table was the only thing stopping Amanda and Eric from attacking each other. Amanda was almost prepared to knock it over. First he insulted John. Then he accuses her of murder. He was walking a fine line. Eric could just barely stand Amanda at that moment. She took advantage of him. She made him look like a fool. Coincidentally, the arrest that brought them together was brought up. They were both filled with blinding rage. Neither one could move then like a bomb exploding the fighting began.

The first few moments were a blur. Amanda drew her knife; Eric his gun. Amanda dropped the knife then leaped toward Eric before he could even shoot. She smashed his fist and kicked the gun in to the bedroom. Eric tossed Amanda on the floor and began punching her in the face. Amanda grabbed his left wrist and pulled him down then elbowed his head. She squirmed out kicking him in the stomach but before she could get far Eric kicked her in the back with his iron encased boot. He swiftly turned her over and straddled her. He pulled out his handcuffs securing her. He grabbed a shard of glass from the overturned coffee table and pricked her neck.

Eric growled. "You are under arrest for murder. But I don't care what happens to you. I want Daniel back. I want my son! I know you're hiding him where is he." Amanda didn't say a word. "Where is he? Where's Daniel? I know you know you bitch! Where's my son? Where's Daniel?"

"Eric let go of me." Amanda pleaded. "I'll tell you where he is but you let me go first."

"No. You'll run. I'll find him whether or not you help me." Eric stood up and lifted Amanda up. He looked toward the balcony and threw her through the glass door. Eric looked at her with fire in his eyes. He was raging inside unsure of anything that was going on. Mercifully, he picked her up and took her to the hospital.

Art was inside city hall prepping for his press conference. He was given the conference immediately because the stage was already set for a speaker that didn't show. Still shaken by the tape Art accepted without thinking. He had two hours to think of something to say. He couldn't think of anything solid . Fortunately he was gifted improvised speeches.

In middle school and high school Art was outspoken and a a little of a troublemaker. Every time he felt like the rules were unfair he would speak up against the authorities in the school. After repeated and failed attempts he learned oratory skills. He was soon able to give many passionate speeches on short notice. In his freshman year of high school Art joined the debate team on a bet. He became popular through out the school as an activist and became the defender of choice in student court. Art's career progressed as the judge in sophomore and junior year. He was later elected as the student body president. Ironically most of Art's progression was meant on a joke. His success convinced him to become involved in law and politics and to drop his previous and forgotten dream in baseball.

Art now depended on his old skills to work him through the speech. He worked through several points to address in his mind but ultimately decided to make it up as he went along. The makeup crew pout on the final touch covering his scar even though Art asked them not to. He was then pushed out to the podium. In the surrounding area a pack of reporters, microphones and cameras waited. Art would already hear people talking about him. The production crew sent shades of Art wouldn't be squinting then cued him to start.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Art Blanc. I'm the chairman for the John Kramer Housing Project. It has come to my attention that the namesake of the project is controversial." Art took a breath. "John Kramer was much more than a serial killer if he could even be considered one. John Kramer was a brilliant engineer and a devoted family man. He was also a close friend of mine. John was married to Jill Tuck and expecting a child when he began his first buildings and urban renewal project. According to many, John was the city's savior. He many building innovations that single handedly improved the city. But a few months after making his big debut tragedy struck"

Art looked into the audience. His praiseworthy speaking of John felt like a subconscious response to the tape he received last night. "John and Jill faced the miscarriage of their son. Later John discovered he had cancer. That cancer spread to his brain making him terminally ill. He felt like all hope was and wanted to die so he attempted suicide. When that failed he realized he survived for a reason. He regained lost hope and and wanted to give everyone their own second chance at life, their own rebirth and realization. His methods were indeed questionable however his intentions were honest and true. This project is dedicated to him in the spirit of those dreams!"

Emotionally driven, Art wiped the makeup away from his scar. He looked up at the crowd who gasped in response. "This scar will always remind me of John and his vision. I was his friend but he still put my life in danger to make me face the reality of my wrongdoings. For that I thank him. I could be viewed as an unchanged man but I intend to change to remember my friend and I dedicate the John Kramer Memorial Housing Project so the city could always remember him. Thank you."

Art looked out at the crowd nervous biting under his skin as he wondered what the response would be if any. The crowd of otherwise professional reports gave him a standing ovation. Art answered the few and trivial questions about the project and could feel pressure lift off his shoulders.

Michelle was another player in Hoffman's plan. She was the babysitter, the tutor and only known to Michelle and Hoffman, the psychologist. For all intents and purposes Hoffman was never identified as Corbett's father. Nor was he legally Corbett's foster parent or guardian. In legal terms Hoffman was only a caregiver and had no true rights to Corbett. That in combination with Hoffman's job and inexperience with children set him to be check periodically and randomly by a social worker to ensure Corbett's welfare.

The first time Hoffman and Corbett were visited by a social worker, Hoffman was still adjusting to giving Corbett rules and punishment. The house was in ruin. Trash and toys were everywhere. In addition Hoffman and Corbett were making cookies so they kitchen was almost overflowing with baking supplies. The house did not look fit for children or people to live in. The social worker was clearly horrified. She and Hoffman went to the backyard which was much more acceptable to talk specifically about Corbett. When he mentioned he didn't tell about Corbett's parents the social worker suggested hiring a psychologist. That's when Michelle came in.

At first Hoffman was uncomfortable leaving Corbett with Michelle. Michelle was a young woman and seemed fairly inexperienced with child care. He didn't intend to let Corbett spend to much time but eventually Corbett wanted to spend more time with Michelle. She thought of Michelle as her mother figure. Hoffman learned to befriended Michelle and in time Corbett called them a family. Hoffman thought it was an odd at first, due to their living situation, but he recalled that Corbett's actual family didn't live together either.

That day Michelle took Hoffman on a shopping trip to properly set up Corbett's almost finished room. Despite Hoffman's connection to Corbett he was unaware of what her bedroom should look like. Michelle had talked to her more often and knew what she wanted. While looking at new clothes for Corbett, Michelle decided to tell Hoffman what she observed about Corbett. "Mark, I think I know what's wrong with Corbett."

"What do you mean?" Hoffman asked nonchalantly. He was too absorbed by the skimpiness of the clothes for young girls. In his line of work dressing kids in such outfits was potentially illegal and just plain wrong. Michelle noticed and dragged him away to the nearby appliance section.

"I've diagnosed her with Disinhibited Attachment Disorder."

"Can't say I've heard of it."

Michelle sighed. "Corbett was neglected when she was with her parents. Unable to form bonds with them, she started to form bonds with other adults. No matter whether or not she knows the person Corbett will try to form with them to make up for her parents absence."

Hoffman thought for a second. "So Corbett tries to make parent figures out of anyone." Michelle nodded. "Including me?"

"I'm sorry Mark but Corbett fell for you after knowing for only one night. That's very rare other kids." Michelle placed a hand on Hoffman's shoulder. "Don't be upset. The best treatment is therapy and she's halfway there don't give up."

Hoffman hung his head. His heart was pulled out mercilessly. He felt this way once before when his sister died. He was overcome with grief. Corbett was his first connection to the world outside of Jigsaw's tactics. She kept him together but their bond was a hoax. He almost collapsed in shock. Then his last exchange with John came back in his mind. He told John that his emotional relationship with Amanda would caused them both to die. John responded by telling Hoffman he could have animosity and that would keep him together. It was a case of practice what you preach. He looked up to Michelle. "I just remembered I have very important business to attend to. If you wouldn't mind, I want to you to have Corbett's uncle pick her up as soon as possible."

"But Mark! She would be find staying with you!"

Hoffman replied, "I never planned on keeping her long term. Please do me this favor. If it's money you're worried about I will loan you my card. I just have important business." He handed her his credit card and walked away.

In the police station's holding cell, Amanda lay back on the hard bed. She was starting to drift off to sleep when the door slid open. "Amanda Young, you're free to go." Amanda walked out of the cell. She looked at the officer. "May I ask why?"

"The charges were dropped." He pulled out of the cell before leaving. Behind him Hoffman was standing. Amanda and Hoffman looked each other over. There was no heart warming reunion just a simple look.

Hoffman spoke first. "I heard what happened. You're okay?"

"Never better." Amanda replied.

"I guess we'll catch up later. Did you send all the tapes?" He asked.

Amanda answered quietly. "Yes. We should fine tune the test though. We haven't had a chance to do that."

"We'll meet at my house. The murder won't affect your trial by the way."

"Thank you." There was an awkward silence. Amanda put her hand out as an offering. "Let's make a deal that we won't let each other die in this test."

"Don't you trust me?" Hoffman scoffed then shook her hand. "It's time to start our game."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** I'll say right away this chapter isn't that well written because I'm not to good at writing action type sequences. I hope you enjoy it anyway. In addition, the next chapter will be the finale piece, so stay tuned.

**Chapter 10**

Amanda and Hoffman looked at the tank one last time. It was the most immense device they ever created and it was beautiful. It's elegance was largely based on its simplicity; few technological mechanics were put into the trap. The design resembled a pool or large fish tank with six pods placed around the sides. All of the pods were six feet tall and had two doors. The first door led in and out of the pod. The second door led in the tank. It was a sliding door held together by two strong magnets. The tank was filled through four pipes in every corner. Another tank of water in a different room was used to supply water to the trap tank. The test itself was of course more complicated.

The test was based on the morals of trust and cooperation. All of the victims would be chained to the tank floor. Their goal was to unlock the box on their pod and use the key in the box to unlock someone else's chain. Once a person unlock their chain the same key was used to unlock the door out of the pod. In order to unlock the box ten keys floated in the water. Being underwater there was no way to talk much less breathe. That's where the pod came in again. If somehow the doors were opened again the victims could retreat to their pods and any escaping water left through a drain so they could breathe but the water would flow back in the tank.

"I can't believe we're actually going to use this." Amanda said.

"I can't believe John didn't tell us which keys go where." Hoffman replied.

"Why would he? We're a part of this." Amanda circled around to turn on the pump.

Hoffman protested. "You're in no condition to be a part of this." As tough as Amanda acted Hoffman knew how vulnerable she could be. It was the second time he saw her beaten so badly. The bruises were light and beginning to swell. The nicks from her being thrown through the glass were cleaned but didn't require bandages. The worst injury was a cut that required stitches. Hoffman was reminded of the first time he saw Amanda beaten by Eric. He was sent by John after Amanda didn't come back. She was about to kill Eric but he pulled her away and dragged Eric to the old boiler room. As soon as Eric was locked away Hoffman brought Amanda back and bandaged her. It was one of the few times Hoffman acted as a brother to Amanda instead of a rival. John didn't let him forget either.

Amanda returned and checked the doors one more time. "Is your girlfriend watching Corbett?"

"My girlfriend? You mean Michelle?"

"Yeah. Isn't she your girlfriend?"

"No, she's Corbett's babysitter. It doesn't matter though. I sent Corbett back."

Amanda laughed. "Yeah right."

"I'm not discussing personal issues with you right now. We're going to be late. Let's go."

After the drug clinic closed six remained in the waiting room: Art, Rigg, Eric, Jill, Hoffman and Amanda. "I assume we're all here for the same reason." Rigg said. He grabbed his tape recorder and placed it on the coffee table. Every one agreed and placed their tape records on the table. "Okay. Amanda why are we here?"

"What makes you think I know?" Amanda asked.

"This is John's work, your his helper." Art said, "What do you want?"

"I don't want anything; this is John's test."

Jill spoke up. "Don't lie to us. I know you were in here. Security caught you on the cameras. What's going on?"

Amanda smirked. "What you want is on that tape. I kept the clue with me the entire time I was here. I don't have it with me now."

Rigg stood up and pulled out his gun. He aimed for Amanda's head. "Rigg put that away!" Eric yelled.

Rigg refused. "Tell us what you want or I'll shoot you."

"Play by the rules." Amanda taunted. "Or innocent people will be hurt. As we speak a live bomb is in the city attached to someone of importance. That bomb will detonate whether or not you find that clue. A lot of people will die some of them may already be at death's door. You better hurry up." The group split Rigg, Jill and Art left to see the tape while Hoffman, Amanda and Eric stayed in the waiting room. Amanda didn't want to sit around so she looked around the waiting room. Hoffman refused to say anything at this point. It was Amanda's turn to be Jigsaw.

Of the two protégées Hoffman was expected to carry Jigsaw's legacy even though Amanda was closer to the master mind. Hoffman always had the advantage of working directly with criminals and potential test subjects. He also had easier access to supplies that could be used to build traps. Yet Amanda had her own advantages. Her personality matched John's almost entirely. Driven by a series of life's misfortunes they knew the right words to make a victim break psychologically rendering them unable to finish a test. Amanda's instability and lack of self control either stalled her technique or it took over in place of it. Hoffman watched her carefully tonight noticing she was neither stumbling or instable. She had achieved an equilibrium and was emulating John perfectly.

Rigg looked over the monitors checking meticulously for anything out of the ordinary. Art and Jill looked over the alternate angles finding nothing that could assist them. "We gotta keep looking." Rigg instructed.

"There's nothing here." Art remarked, "I don't see any insignias on her jacket."

"What about gestures? Is she pointing to anything? Is she going in any rooms?"

Jill turned away from the screen. "What makes you so sure there's anything is here? What if there's nothing in the video?"

Art murmured "She wouldn't have said there was something here."

Jill looked at the screen once more. Amanda came in through the back door walked down to the drug closet. She grabbed the door knob and left. Then the video looped. Jill looked again and noticed a very subtle movement. Amanda pulled something from her jacket. The black and white video made the object hard to see but common sense led her to believe it was a key. "I think she's trying to get in the drug closet."

Rigg checked the screen. "Is that our clue? Amanda breaking into a drug closet?"

"The bomb is attached to somebody." Art repeated. "Jill, is someone else here?"

"I always check the rooms and the drug supplies. No one else is here."

"It's the hospital." Art exclaimed. "The hospital is full people at death's door."

Rigg asked, "What does that have to do with the drug closet?"

"My miscarriage." Jill replied. "Cecil wanted to get the drugs but I don't know who the important person is."

"Let's find out." Art said.

The drive to the hospital was slowed by late night traffic. As they approached the hospital a glow of red light was emitted from the emergency room. Police cars and fire trucks surrounded the hospital. Hoffman checked his pockets for his badge. Whatever the situation was he wanted to take the precaution of making sure the test was still going to plan. If someone had called the bomb squad the entire plan was jeopardized. He left the rest of the group in the an as he checked the scene.

Several officers were standing out side of the door. Hoffman showed his badge. "Captain Hoffman. Homicide. What's going on here?"

A shaken officer stammered. "A nurse exploded!"

"Exploded?"

"Yeah! All over the emergency room. I couldn't stomach staying in there."

"Explain to me exactly what happened."

"Look you have to ask forensics. There combing over everything."

The emergency room was covered with blood and the stench of burning flesh. Forensics had already set several markers identifying evidence. People were examining the victim. Her arms and legs were propelled across the room. The torso was ripped in half and her head rolled behind the receptionist's desk.

"Captain." A forensic said. "I thought you had the night off."

"I was just driving by and wanted to see what all the commotion was about."

"Ah, well this is a very interesting case. According to the witnesses the floor nurse came by here placed an envelope on the desk and ran out that's when the bomb went off. We're guessing the position she was in when the bomb went of caused the torso to split like that." The forensic walked to the scene and pulled a small metal piece from the floor. "This a part of the bomb. It looks like it was put together loosely so the casing would shatter. So far the only thing we have his this envelope that says 'Veterans' on it."

Hoffman grabbed the envelope. He looked through the contents. It was the next clue to the test. Hoffman didn't want to risk losing it to the police and put it in his pocket. "I think I'll take this to the lab myself."

"But the procedure..."

Hoffman walked out of the emergency room to the van. He opened the door on Amanda's side and silently pulled her out. Before he closed the door he cracked the window and placed something on the chair. He and Amanda walked to the side of the van. "There's been a change of plans." Hoffman said.

"What change?" Amanda asked.

"The bomb went off. We'll have to skip the city wide scavenger hunt."

"Just because the bomb went off?"

Hoffman lowered his voice. "When a bomb goes off for seemingly no reason in a hospital the first thing suspected is a terrorist attack. The entire police department will go savage looking for whoever did this. You are mostly likely the top subject of everyone. If we're running around town in a dark van with four other people you'll get caught. This is for security. It'll save you. I already set the sedative in the van. They won't notice a thing."

Amanda frowned. She sighed looking back at the van. "Fine, let's get started."

The tank was prepared to be used. Everything was on a complex timer system and the pump and lights jolted alive. Water began pouring furiously making it's way through the space in the door where the chain and shackle was led in. The light intensified waking the competitors. Shock and terror filled everyone's eyes. They looked around and began hitting the doors in front of them.

Rigg was the first to break through. The doors to his room shut closed forcibly. He prodded at the edge to try and get back in. He looked back and saw Art, Eric, Jill, Hoffman and Amanda watching him. He tried to swim in Eric's pod on his left or Hoffman on his right but the chain didn't allow him to go so far. Eric was the next to swim in the tank. Art and Jill followed. Hoffman gestured for Amanda not to leave then entered with the rest of the competitors. He had to show them what to do.

Hoffman searched in front of him and grabbed a key that was floating in front of him. He made sure everyone was watching to make his moves. First he brought the key up to the box sitting on the top of the pod and tried to unlock it. Second he forced the key between the doors opening it so he could retreat to the pod. The group appeared to understand what Hoffman said. Anxious to take a breath they retreated to the pods.

While Rigg took his breaths he realized Hoffman gave the instruction not Amanda. Once they both left Rigg attacked Hoffman. Rigg grabbed Hoffman's neck attempting to strangle him. Hoffman kicked back landing once in Rigg's stomach. Eric took notice of them and tried to swim to them. While swimming a key bumped into his face. Before he pushed it away he noticed a small symbol on the key. It matched the shape on the top of his box. He grabbed the key then swam close enough to force the Rigg and Hoffman apart. Energy spent the two were forced to retreat. Eric instead opened his box.

There were two things in the box. The first thing Eric noticed was the key. He quickly tried to unlock his shackle but the key didn't fit. He looked back in the box and saw a plaque on the inside lid of the box. Crudely engraved and painted on the metal were the words. "You put her away. Release her to redeem yourself." He looked across the tank to Amanda. The key was for her shackle. Amanda was still in her pod and he had no way to communicate to her. Swimming across was impossible because the chain only allowed to go so far. He went to his pod to take a breath and think about the next step.

On the other side of the tank Jill and Art were still grabbing at keys. Amanda still safely resided in her pod. She watched as Art and Jill both managed to open their boxes. Witnessing Eric's inability to open his lock, Jill tried her key against Art's shackle and he was free. Sensibly, Art tried his key on Jill's but it wasn't a match.

Amanda knew the key wouldn't work with Jill's shackle. The key for that was in her pocket. It was the same she had used to trick them with in the clinic. John had given Amanda the key so she would have something to remember by if she chose not to continue his work. Amanda decided to mold Jill's shackle lock to the key to have personal control over someone in the test. Jill was Amanda's first choice because Amanda thought Jill should have been more careful with Gideon.

Art swam to his box to read the plaque. "If you truly have changed submit to your fate." The literal translation was of course death. However John's tests were against having the victims give up and die. He had to think about presumed flaws in his morals. He looked at the other victims. Three were police officers Could John have known about the scams and bribes he took? If that was true he had to give himself up to one. But which one?

Rigg searched for the keys furiously. There inly tens but the keys at the opposite end of the tank didn't seem to float over to him. He must have tried the same few keys several times before realizing they were the same keys. All of a sudden he snapped. He grabbed the box that felt weighed down with lead. Three solid hits broke the lock to be opened. His hint was unclear. "Here's your chance save his life." It was for Eric. Rigg tossed the key over to Eric. Eric unlocked himself and turned away to Amanda. He opened the doors and stepped in the pod.

"I got your key." Eric knelt to unlock the shackle. He stood up and smiled at her.

"Thank you?" Amanda said. "Why are you smiling?"

Eric shrugged, "The medicine I took is starting to take effect. You should go, where's the key for the door?"

Amanda took the key. "It's This one. I have to stay here though I have to unlock someone."Let me do it. I don't want you to get hurt. Do you have the key?"

Amanda took the key from her pocket. She was convinced by his rare chivalry and charm. She wanted to take advantage of Eric's kindness and knew there could be an advantage for her self. She had no idea how long Hoffman wanted her to stay in the pod. She was going to break out. "Okay Eric. This key here is for Jill. I was planning to hold on to it but I also want to leave. Also tell Art to give up and leave his key."

"Yes, Amanda." Eric pried the doors open and swam out. Getting to Jill took little effort and didn't bother his braced leg. He unlocked Jill then with persistence got to Art. He didn't try to communicate with Art and instead threw the key away. He pushed Art out of the pod then joined Amanda on the other side.

"What's going on?" Art yelled. "I want the truth."

Amanda replied. "What do you want to know?"

"I want to know what's this test is for. We passed John's test. Do we have to pass yours too?"

"This was John's test. I helped set it up and so did Mark. How else could we have found so many people and places where they couldn't be found?" She grinned and watched the tank.

Rigg and Hoffman struggled for the key. They both put a fight swinging and kicking at each other. In fending each other off the key fell to the floor. Rigg sucker punched Hoffman causing to bleed. As Hoffman squirmed Rigg grabbed the key to unlock himself. He then glanced over and snatched several keys. As he left through the pod he dropped the keys in the drain. He walked out of the pod exhausted. Eric went over to help him and put him down on a crate.

Amanda continued to watch Hoffman. The detective was surprised to find Rigg gone. Hoffman looked around and realized most the keys were missing. He peered out side to the participants and smiled. He grabbed his box and pulled the lock down. It was unlocked the whole time. As he opened the box there was a loud zap. The lights flashed for a second and the next thing they saw was Hoffman convulsing in the water. Everyone began asking what was going on and Amanda ran in her pod trying to open the door. "It's stuck! Someone help me!" Eric was by her side and tried to pull the door open

"It's no use. The door seems glued. Hold on." Eric took his key out but before he could but before he could put it in the door it flew out of his hands and stuck to the metal. "Is that a magnet?"

"Yes but it's not supposed to be that strong. I think that shock made it stronger." Amanda said, "We have to get these doors open so the water will drain out."

Art came up to them. "I don't think that will work. The pump just stopped."

Rigg and Jill were examining the pump. "The keys I threw must have clogged it." Rigg said.

"You seem awful calm about this." Art said.

Rigg nodded. "Of course. He put us through this. We almost died and dozens of innocent civilians died. It's only fitting he die the same way he killed. If only you left Amanda in there then we could just go home."

"What's wrong with you?" Eric yelled. "Whether or not you like him he is human. We can't let him die."

"I can't believe you're standing up for them. Amanda kidnapped your son. Mark kidnapped you and locked you away for six months! Because of them you can't go to sleep without having some flashback and almost killing someone! You honestly think I should save him."

Amanda started to yell. "If you don't you'll be an accessory to murder! I have enough witnesses!"

"If we keep standing around we'll all be murder." Jill said. "John wouldn't want anyone to die in his test. This could be a part of it. For all we know there could be a sensor here that will catch the room on fire if he dies. I suggest we help him."

Eric, Art and Amanda agreed but Rigg remained against the notation of helping Hoffman. They set a plan in motion. Amanda and Jill worked on taking the pipes out. Art and Eric started searching for things to break the glass doors with. The room was filled with spare items. There were meat hooks that were good for ripping apart the pipes. Eric and Art broke two crates and used the boards to break the door.

Rigg watched the commotion. Something caught his eye in the mess near the broken crate. He scraped through the rubble and pulled an old style tape recorder. The player was empty but a scrap of paper had the numbers 68 and 4. He saw the crates each had numbers and sought out the respective crates. The more crates he broke the more piece of Jigsaw's puzzle he found. 64 and 8 led to a key, a solider figurine and the numbers 32 and 7. Crates 32 and 7 led to the robe, number 51 and a puzzle piece, number 90. Those crates led to the pig mask and the puppet. Rigg looked for the numbers inside the mask and the tape fell out. He put the tape in just as Eric and Art dragged Hoffman out of the tank.

"If you found this tape you have truly worked hard to save the last Veteran and my only victim, Mark Hoffman. However, it's too late. As much as I valued the detective's help he could not follow my rules." Rigg paused the tape and brought it over to the group. Eric was trying CPR on Hoffman but his efforts seemed in vain. Rigg knelt down, "Listen to this." He began playing the tape and assisted Eric.

"I trusted Mark to protect others and continue my legacy. Part of that was stopping Amanda from committing murder but instead he only assisted her. Amanda couldn't be controlled due to her mental state however Mark should have know better. This was not a test for all of you but instead a test for Mark. The only way for him to have passed was to opt not to preform this test otherwise he would have failed. I apologize for every trouble he has put you through however he will pay the price for killing others."

Shortly after the tape finished, Hoffman woke up.


	11. Chapter 11 Part One

**A/N:** I am extremely sorry that this chapter took so long to get up. I didn't realize how long it was going to be until I started writing. As a result I've split the chapter into two separate parts to keep it a readable length. I want to thank all of you for reading this story. It was a lot of hard work to write this and having readers encouraged me to keep going. In addition I have a few more stories in progress which I'll have information about on my profile page. Once again thank you for reading!

**Chapter 11**

**Part One – The Trial**

It was still late night as the Veterans sneaked out of the Gideon meat packing plant. Hoffman was restrained to a make shift stretcher and slid in the back of the van. Art and Rigg took the driver and passenger seats while Eric, Jill and Amanda tended to Hoffman with a first aid kit. The power surge at the factory was a certain draw to attention so they were careful to avoid any other people on the way to a hospital. Angel of Mercy was their last choice because of the bomb. They planned to find an out of the way hospital and prepared for a long trip

County General Hospital lay in the boondocks miles away from any cities. It was a last resort or emergency only hospital that even citizens nearby tried to avoid. Most of the city hospitals were overflowed from the patients avoiding county. The hospitals reputation for bad health care tarnished it. Most doctors were old war medics, freshly graduated residents or retired doctors looking to sharpen there skills. There were even doctors sued for malpractice and somehow veterinarians. In addition most of the staff was on parole probation or in hiding. The location, vacancy and lack of security made it a top choice for fugitives in need of health care.

Amanda knew her way around the hospital from stealing John's medication. She quickly guided the group to the ICU where Hoffman was placed. The hospital was nearing empty. Thin gray walls supported the elderly patients walking around. It was eerily quiet even in the ICU. Soft moans, groans and whimpers floated outside however some of that ambient noise was undoubtedly from doctors and interns taking time off with each other. Eric and Rigg stayed behind in the waiting room while Art and Jill decided to go home to make sure Angel of Mercy hospital was cleared.

Hoffman lies in the barebones bed just barely aware. Amanda took a seat in front of him. She tried to smile, "I never thought I'd see you in a hospital bed." She said softly. "I thought only John was this vulnerable."

Weakly Hoffman said, "I'll be out of here in no time." He sat up on the bed. "This test was supposed to kill me. I guess John had his favorites."

"I never left his side; we were like father and daughter, inseparable. You know how much he loved kids." Amanda took a key from her pocket. She placed it in Hoffman's hand. "I don't need this anymore. It's a master key to John's old buildings. In his letter, John told me that he was going to try to kill you and save me. He wanted me to continue his work alone."

Hoffman put the key down. "You should've listened to me and ran. I could have helped you to start a new life somewhere better."

"I didn't want to believe John was going to hurt anybody. That's like telling a priest not to believe in Jesus."

Hoffman lay back down. "It's all said and done now. We can't change it. Why don't you find Eric and find somewhere to stay overnight."

"But I want to stay with you."

"Amanda, please."

"Fine."Amanda hugged him gingerly then left. "Good night."

* * *

Rigg couldn't help thinking about the past month let alone the past years. It had been the longest and most trying years of his entire police career. The constant murders, chases and the lost of many people near and dear to him was too much. He started to feel like he was losing his mind. The reactions of every one only proved he was slowly going crazy. He was quick to declare anyone a suspect and was too sure of himself to believe he could be wrong. Then there were the irrational emotional outbursts. It was all so complicated.

"Something on your mind, Rigg?" Eric said.

"Hmm? Oh, I was trying to piece together everything that has happened since Jigsaw showed up." Rigg replied. "The worst years of my life."

"It has been the worst years of everyone's life in this city. There was the constant fear of being hunted and killed. Every single thing you did you had to check on to make sure it wasn't unethical. But if people have learned to be better from it that makes it better doesn't it?"

"But how much better could it be if people had to be kidnapped, killed and held hostage? I mean your son was held hostage, you were held hostage. Our coworkers and friends died. Kerry died. What did they do wrong?"

Eric sighed, "How am I supposed to know? At the end of the day Jigsaw is still a sick bastard. The majority of the people who died were bait for the bigger pray, like my informant Michael. His death was just to get me to track Jigsaw down. People learned from those mistakes which was good. I'm not saying what happened was right or justified. I'm just saying hope these sacrifices make people understand Jigsaw's message: Cherish life."

Rigg had no rebuttal and sat in the silence. Then he heard the shouts of a women screaming, "Let me go! Let me go!" Growling, thudding and squeaking grew louder as the struggle approached. Eric and Rigg watched the approaching commotion.

Amanda struggled against the police. "You can't arrest me! You better have a warrant! I didn't do anything!"

Eric jumped out of his chair and hurried to them. "What's the problem here?"

The older officer, a dark haired male, looked at Eric. He scoffed. "A simple arrest. Who are you?"

Eric pulled his badge that was stowed away in his shoe. "Lieutenant Eric Matthews, LAPD. So again what's the problem?"

"Eric Matthews. I've heard of you. Well, Amanda Young is out on bail. Twice actually. Not only that but she violated her bail terns. She's not allowed out here."

The officers tried to keep her back and she yelled, "Eric help me!"

"She's within the county and under LAPD jurisdiction. I think I'll take it from here." Eric grabbed Amanda and pulled her toward him.

The younger female officer grabbed Amanda's arm back. "You won't be taking her anywhere Lieutenant Matthews. Regardless of your rank, you are out of LAPD jurisdiction and in mine." She cued the older officer to leave with Amanda. "She'll be booked here for the night. But don't worry I'll have her transferred to LA."

"By noon tomorrow." Eric ordered.

The officer shrugged. She said, "You know how long it takes for the papers to get through. And there's the small chance the papers could get lost."

"If you handle them yourself that won't be a problem." Eric said.

"I'm only a hospital guard. But she'll get to LA."

When she walked away Eric grabbed her arm. He glanced at her name tag then began whispering in her ear. "Officer Braxton you remind me of my last partner. She was focused and determined but also stubborn and every now and again a huge pain in the neck." Eric paused remembering Kerry. He was so occupied with Amanda he was oblivious to Kerry's absence. She was the little nagging voice in his head. If it wasn't for her Eric probably would have lost his job long ago. "Those qualities are good in serious police work but a simple guard like you doesn't need to act that way. It won't get you respect or noticed." He let go of Officer Braxton's arm.

"Thanks but I'm guessing your partner left you."

"She was murdered by Amanda Young." Eric declared. "It was that stubbornness I was telling you about. I'd be careful around Amanda If I were you. She's clever and if she gets angry who knows what will happen next."

* * *

After coming home from Angel of Mercy, Art brought Jill to his house to unwind. He remembered what it was like to be alone after his first near-death experience and Jill was more welcome company than a stranger. They both changed into dry clothes. Jill borrowed Art's t-shirt and sweatpants because he obviously had to women's clothes. To make the evening a degree better Art searched his starved cupboards for any food at all. Luckily he had cheese, crackers, grapes and a bottle of Foghorn Vineyards Chardonnay. Jill poured the wine then they toasted to life.

"You need to do some grocery shopping if this is all you have, Art." Jill stated like a worried mother.

"It's only me most of the time I don't need to buy so much food." Art answered. "Even if I only bought the necessary things I wouldn't need to by food for two weeks maybe. Foods with preservatives are the key."

"Preservatives are bad for you. Try fruits or vegetables it won't hurt you." Jill advised.

"I like to live dangerously." Art ate more while watching Jill finished her wine then pour more in her glass. "Isn't that a bit much?"

Jill finished her sip then placed down the glass. "When John left me I was so depressed. I felt faced with my own morality knowing he wouldn't be there to protect me anymore. To make me feel better I drank. John left the liquor and he had good taste. So now to make myself feel better I drink."

"If you drink any more I might have to let you stay the night. I wouldn't want you drive home drunk."

* * *

_2 months later..._

Eric approached the stand as he had done many times before. He cleaned up his appearance by wearing a casual suit, cutting his hair and shaving. At Amanda's advice, he left the mechanical brace at home. Instead he bandaged his ankle to stabilize it and brought a cane to walk with. After taking the oath to tell the truth Eric sat in the chair and looked at Amanda until her lawyer, Marcus Wilson moved between them to ask the introductory question, "State your name and occupation."

"Eric Matthews. Lieutenant Detective in the Robbery-Homicide Department of the LAPD."

"Thank you. Now, how well do you know Amanda Young?"

Before Eric could answer Art objected the question citing ambiguity. Eric knew it would happen. Eric had watched the previous trial and he learned both lawyers questioning styles. Wilson had a submissive style. He would ask questions, back off if the witness got aggressive and then finish. Art had a more offense oriented demanding style. He would start by asking strict yes or no questions. He forcibly strained out any opinion which gave the effect of having people say what he wanted to hear and nothing else. Many people found it questionable but Art's charisma convinced many otherwise. It worked well with Wilson who simply refused to object to what Art had to say. The end result was a hard look at the truth which distracted everyone from the manipulation.

Wilson asked more questions about Eric and Amanda's personal relationship. For the time being how they first met was avoided. In order to create a good character testimony for Amanda only the good traits were mentioned. Amanda's care of Eric was detailed. Her discovery of Eric's PTSD was praised. Her willingness to monitor Eric's therapy was highlighted. To polish up the charade the mostly unknown story of Eric's survival was fabricated.

Wilson started by introducing the scenario in the sewers. He said Amanda was about to kill Eric when she had a change of heart. To save her guilt Amanda locked Eric away to care for him. Then to finally return him to society Amanda allegedly set up the test with another police officer and a lawyer for Eric's protection. Art had a good laugh at the story before objecting it on the grounds of lack of evidence. Wilson said he had no more questions then left the floor to Art for cross-examination.

"Lieutenant Matthews, you've described Miss Young as kind, caring woman. You've said plenty to show she's only a victim of circumstance and mental disorder." Art began, "However can you please tell the court under what circumstances you and Ms. Young first met."

Eric hesitated, "It was a drug bust. I was informed of heroin possession at Amanda's residence and executed a warrant for her arrest."

"Is that all you remember?"

"That's how I first met her."

"I can understand your hesitation. I know you don't want to jeopardize your relationship with Amanda." Art grabbed a folder from his table. The defense looked on tensely. "I would like to submit this evidence to the court. It's the write up Lieutenant Matthews wrote about the arrest. It states, in Eric's words, 'Miss Young refused to cooperate with the police. She resisted arrest claiming she had done nothing wrong. After Miss Young was shown the heroin hidden behind her television she claimed it was not hers and assaulted myself and a fellow officer.' Should I continue?"

"No." Eric remembered that day vividly. His informant, who happened to live in Amanda's apartment building, stashed bottles of heroin in Amanda's room so Eric could have another arrest on record. When he stormed in (or in actuality tapped the door lightly) Amanda was asleep and shocked to see the drug force scour her home. Once the bottles were discovered Eric tried to cuff her but she elbowed his stomach then slapped another officer. She finally gave in after being threatened by a Taser gun.

Art seemed to relish the moment and continued reading from a different page in the folder. "This record has already been submitted by the court. It's Amanda's criminal record. In my opinion it's pretty lengthy for a victim of circumstance. Let's see parking tickets, public intoxication and the more serious narcotic possession and numerous assault charges. I guess she's always at the wrong place at the wrong time. Anyways, Eric could you read the fifth row down?" Art showed the folder to Eric.

"Assault of a Police Officer." Eric read, "Victim: Eric Matthews."

Art smiled deviously then handed off the folder for the jury to look over. "So today we established Amanda Young as a remarkable caretaker. She constantly watches over Eric tending to his needs. She's also a saint because she refused to murder Eric. In the end despite her criminal history, her violence towards you and your family and friends in your opinion is Amanda still a good person?"

Wilson jumped up with an objection. "That's badgering! And asking for an opinion! And it's also too vague. There was almost no question there."

"Okay, counselor. Sustained." The judge said annoyed, "Mr. Blanc, do you have any more questions? If so ask them."

Art nodded. "Eric, did Amanda Young attempt to murder you?"

"Yes."

"Did she kidnap your son?"

"Yes."

"Did she hold you and your son in captivity?"

"Yes."

The rapid fire of questions continued. They all covered Eric's time as a player in Jigsaw's games. His captivity was brought up. Daniel and Rigg were mentioned. His final test and escape were also interrogated to death. Art threw the questions fast and Eric answered similarly. The answers of the questions were clear enough but it was impossible to oppose any questions because soon Art would be at the next. For three minutes the intense questioning continued but all stopped when Art asked the question:

"Did Amanda murder your partner Sergeant Alison Kerry?"

Wilson called another objection and began arguing with Art about the relevancy of his questions. They were both called up to the bench. Eric though about what he would say if he would be obliged to answer. He grew accustom to saying Amanda killed Kerry but what happened was up to speculation. Legally there was no right answer. From what he overheard Art claimed he had no more questions then the trial was put to recess for the day.

Eric pondered the question as he drove to his last stop before home. If Art knew the question was objectionable there had to be some ulterior motive. He saw it was manipulation at the hands of clever art. Eric concluded that the question was a cryptic way of discovering where his loyalty lied. If he said yes Amanda would have been prosecuted and Kerry would have. Then Art would have won. If Eric said no Art would have a sweeter victory. Amanda would be free of the charge and Kerry would be faced with injustice.

* * *

Eric signed into the guest book then was escorted by the guards even though he was more than capable to defend himself. He was placed in front of a glass window and told to wait. Shortly after wards there was a buzz and clang. On the other side of the window a guard walked in with Amanda. He led her to the booth before unlocking her handcuffs. She picked up the phone and Eric did too.

"Tomorrow's the last day." Eric said.

"Yeah. Think I'll win?" Amanda half-heartedly replied.

"You had a bad lawyer. And you can always appeal." Eric smiled to get Amanda to cheer up but she wasn't in the mood. He looked at her hair which had been cut. "What happened with your hair?"

"I was in a fight and another girl kept pulling on it. Since I have a tendency to get in to fights I thought it would give me an advantage to cut my hair."

"Good thinking…I'm sorry I wasn't more help today. But I don't really have experience of your good side."

Amanda shrugged. "It doesn't matter." She paused. "Are you taking your medicine?"

"Yes. Why?"

"No reason. What about therapy? You're going to both right?"

"Yes, Amanda."

Amanda seemed to get more agitated as she asked more questions. They eventually got into an argument about him using his cane. Eric was against it because it didn't make him look youthful. Amanda wanted Eric to use it recalling a time when John had tripped on a wire while walking and hurt his foot. John started to limp around which was worsen by the brain tumor.

"I just want to know you'll be all in once piece just in case I don't make it home for a few years." Amanda pleaded.

"Don't talk like that." Eric encouraged. "You're not coming home in a few years; you're coming home tomorrow, I promise."

Amanda smiled, "Good night Eric."

"Good night. Don't let the mean girls bite."

* * *

Art and Jill began living together shortly after their ordeal in the tank. It wasn't a mutual decision but rather a gradual change. Jill began going grocery shopping with Art to improve his diet. After that she started to take care of his sloppy organization. Then she started spending more time around Art often going with him to press meeting and events concerning the housing project. They eventually became dependent of each other and decided to exchange house keys. Most of their time was spent in Art's apartment because Jill always found something in need of improvement. As Jill began to find more to do she stayed with Art over periods of time. With that they unofficially began living together.

Personally, Art and Jill didn't consider each other as roommates. Art paid the rent on his own and Jill continued the mortgage on her house. They never even discussed the issue. Once Jill said her house was too sentimental to sell; Art agreed then the topic changed. Jill might as well have gone back to her house when Art wasn't aware of it. All Art knew was she was there when he woke up, came back from work and went to sleep and that was all that mattered.

When Art came home that night Jill had begun cooking their dinner. Art began setting the table which was the most he could do after Jill started to cook. Then he turned the TV to the court channel to hear the roundtable discussion on the trial day. The newscaster read off the highlights of the case before handing it to commentators.

"I don't think they can really capture what happened today in a few simple highlights." Art boasted. "I was really on a roll today. I even made Eric crack a little. I would have had him in my hands but Wilson finally stood up to me and screwed up my momentum. I just gave up."

Jill teased, "That's just like you as soon as there's a little mistake in your plans you give up. You can at least try to make up for it."

"Like I said you should have been there. It was the one time I couldn't stop and start again." Art went over to Jill in the kitchen to help put out the food. First the bowls, then plates and finally silverware all in order of size. It was the same compulsive order John always used. Just like John, Jill didn't think it could be done any other way.

"I'll try to make it tomorrow." Jill said. "Won't it be on TV anyway?"

Art shook his head. "It'll be cut for commercials. Then they'll try to make it up with those poor highlights. No you have to be there. I'll have Amanda on her knees then after the closing statement the jury will be fully convinced to lock her up for good. The judge even figured out his sentence."

"Why are you so willing to win this?" Jill asked, "Amanda spared your life once before. In return you're just going to send her to death row?"

"I'm not sending her to death row. She'll get 25 years. She's young enough to live through it and go back to her life. This is just a boast to my career."

"And your ego at the expense of another life." Jill shouted, "Didn't you learn anything? She's not even the one who committed the crime."

"Jill, this is my job. There's an entire city paying me to send Amanda away. Her own lawyer is against her." Art argued. "This is how the justice system works."

"What about the justice for everyone else? The victims of muggings, rapes and murders only got to rest once John captured and tested them. They would have gotten away with it otherwise. If you put Amanda away and say what she did was wrong it's almost like saying the criminals should have gotten away to begin with."

Art sat down at the table. "I'm not talking about this anymore."

"Fine. But don't expect me to be there tom morrow." Jill dropped everything and walked out of the apartment.

Art was fully aware of Jill's attachment to Amanda. It was tied to her attachment of John. Even though they were divorced, Jill never stopped loving John. There was always a small part of her that was infatuated with him. When John died Jill had no way to hold on to the good memory of him. His last years were only signified by articles that insulted him. Amanda Young was her hope for keeping John's deeds alive.

Jill regarded Amanda as John's adopted daughter and by definition her stepdaughter. John cared for Amanda and loved her unconditionally. Amanda, when interviewed, always mentioned those qualities of their relationship. She also knew John's favorite things to eat, read and say Amanda also knew some personal details about John and Jill's relationship. Jill summarized that John would have only shared so much if he really cared about her.

Jill became intent on meeting Amanda but she was impossible to meet unless one was willing to go in the jailhouse. Her only chance was at John's funeral two days after the trial. Jill had waited so long to arrange the funeral because the city refused to release his body in case it was needed for the trial. It was two months too long but she would be allowed to put her former husband to rest and meet the woman that was like his daughter.

* * *

Courtroom 5B in the John Marshall courthouse was prepared for a long day. The frigid November morning didn't stop spectators from pouring in at five in the morning. News stations and support or protest group were the first to arrive. Next were civilians that wanted to get an up close view of the court case of the decade. People could only get so close though because the front rows were reserved for the living victims and their families.

Rigg and Eric were the first of the victims to arrive. Alison, Diana and an older man, Alison's father came next. Daniel came and even sat next to his father. They didn't have a conversation but Eric ruffled Daniel's hair and said, "Long time, no see." Corbett came in with her aunt and uncle but she was kept from Hoffman by Anthony. Even FBI agents Strahm and Perez arrived. Strahm was confined to a wheelchair and Perez's face was covered in scars unexpectedly minutes before the crowded room closed its door to spectators Jill arrived.

Before the trial began the details were briefed. The first note was Amanda's lawyer was being substituted by his second. Art was unaware of the second's ability as a lawyer. He had never seen any cases he was in. The judge then made sure the defense witnesses were present. In order of appearance they were Daniel Matthews, Mark Hoffman and finally Amanda Young. Lastly there would be closing statements and if time and circumstances allowed the overconfident judge wanted to announce his sentence.

The courtroom was silenced and the trial began. The replacment defense lawyer Gordy Smith called Daniel as his first witness. Smith asked Daniel to state his name then asked his first question. "Could you explain your relationship with the accused?"

"She was in the trap with me. She saved me. Daniel stated.

"How did she save you?"

"While we were in the sewers she gave me an antidote. It stopped the posion and let me rest. Before Amanda put me in the safe she gave me an oxygen tank."

Smith nodded. "Ms. Young protected you from death but there were six others in the house. Did she only try to save you?"

"No, no. She tried to save all of us. She told us everything to do. She wanted us to follow the rules. I believed Amanda. Every time the rules were broken someone died." Daniel's voice began to break thinking about the torture. He recomposed himself then finished, "There was a woman named Laura. She followed me and Amanda around but she couldn't stand to the poison. Amanda broke her neck as a mercy killing. That's the worse that happened. Amanda tried to get eveyrone out alive."

Art sat easy in his chair. He laughed at Smith's diverse and unexpected list of witnesses. In order to get Daniel to testify the subpoena had to be sent across the country then back when they learned Daniel was in Los Angeles. Hoffman must have been last minute because he only had a short amount of time as the case leader and the only people aware of his involvement didn't speak up. Amanda was an interesting choice of a witness due to the insanity defense. She was actually cleared by a psychiatrist as unable to competently testify and Art was respectful of that although he knew she would be called eventually. The choices showed much about Smith's ability to Art; Smith just didn't know what he was doing.

For his last question a new piece of evidence was introduced: the tapes of the gas house. Smith looked through various parts of the tapes and asked Daniel about Amanda's role in each one. Art carefully observed the tapes for any malicious behavior on behalf of Amanda. He looked at every detail even fast forwards but there was nothing. It was the only clear proof of Amanda being involved with Jigsaw's schemes and it showed Amanda as a victim suffering like everyone else. There wasn't even a slight bit of sadism in her. Art's questions were destroyed. He didn't question Daniel leaving Smith to call his next witness Hoffman.

The tapes caused uproar in the gallery giving Smith his first question. "How many recordings like this were found?"

Hoffman answered shamefully, "There was at least one audio or video tape at each scene."

"Really? That's over a dozen pieces of evidence never released, never even spoken about. Why?"

"The forensic department found nothing of use in any of the tapes. The most that was recovered was a hooded man operating on a victim before a trap." Hoffman stated. "We felt there was no need to talk about evidence useless to the public."

"Useless? I don't think so." Smith said, "You're hiding something, aren't you?"

Art was about to call for an objection but both he and Smith were called to the bench by the judge. "Your Honor, I demand Counselor Smith be removed from the trial." Art whispered. "He's setting up something completely irrelevant."

"I understand, Art." The judge replied. "Gordy, you have one chance to make a point with this or otherwise this evidence will be thrown out."

Being the silent party Smith simply nodded and walked away. He grabbed a tape from his desk and replaced it with the one in the VCR. "I'm submitting this tape as evidence. It was found in Alison Gordon's home on the night she was held hostage. I received this tape from a detective in the homicide department. Captain Hoffman when I start this tape please identify all people you recognize."

The tape began with John looking directly in the camera. He moved the camera across panning the entire bathroom trap before fixing it to one position. There was a knock on the door and a man dressed in a red cloak and pig mask came in carrying Dr. Gordon. He locked the doctor in the shackle then handed John a small remote before leaving. John began applying the prosthetic for his head. When he was almost finished Amanda came in with Adam. When the setup of the trap was finished and Amanda shut off the lights Smith stopped the tape.

"Captain?"

"John Kramer was the first man on the tape. I don't know the second person who arrived in the tape but they were carrying Dr. Lawrence Gordon. Amanda Young was next with Adam Faulkner." Hoffman recited.

"Thank you. Now in that tape, did Amanda Young seem like a willing helper?"

"No. She looked nervous, upset."

"Did Amanda Young commit any crime in that tape?"

"Um…yes. Kidnapping and conspiracy to murder."

Smith tilted his head. "I didn't notice that Captain. When did she kidnap anybody or conspire to murder somebody?"

"She carried an unconscious person in the room with the intent of murdering him."

"I agree she did bring an unconscious person in the room but that doesn't prove she kidnapped him. In can, be implied but there is no kidnapping on the tape. Also Miss Young's intent is unclear. You said yourself she looked unwilling. Someone else must have told her what to do." Smith played the tape again pausing it on a shot of John's face. "Captain, as the case officer do you have any more knowledge of this case that hasn't been you used and could be?"

The judge banged his gavel. "Counselor, that's enough. I don't want anymore evidence introduced in this trial. The jury has enough to work with. Captain you may step down. I'm calling for a fifteen minute recess. After that I want to finish this trial. Court is adjourned."

Most people congregated in the hall during the recess reporters clamored for Art and Smith. They both ignored the reporters and went to the private rooms for attorney-client meetings. Art went alone to gather his thoughts. Smith went to his room knowing he was followed by Detective Hoffman.

"You're here about the tapes, right?" Smith asked.

Hoffman demanded, "I need to know how you got those tapes."

"As I stated in court a detective in your homicide department released the tapes with proper documentation but wishes to remain anonymous."

"There's no way they could be released without a signature." Hoffman stated.

"There is one way." Smith opened his briefcase. He pulled an evidence release form out and handed it to Hoffman. "It was signed using the detective's badge number. I actually find more secure than a signature. It can't be forged as easy."

Hoffman snatched the paper away. He stared at the number on the sheet. He didn't have every number memorized; that was impossible. However he could recall the ones of the most likely suspects. "This badge number…there's no way this detective signed this or anything else out."

Smith sighed. "I compared that to the number on the badge I was shown. It was the same. You can't trick me captain."

"You don't understand. This detective has been dead for three months."

* * *

Daniel and Eric sat at the bench outside of the courthouse. It was reminiscent of the days before the divorce. Eric always brought Daniel to court when he was young. Since Eric's job was always violent and dangerous the only time Daniel could see him at work was showing the evidence and talking about the crime scenes he went to. During the recesses Eric and Daniel would wait on the bench. They would eat lunch, talk or just watch everything in the city. Daniel would always hope for a robbery to happen just to see his daddy at work. Even now Daniel anticipated a fight between the protestors or a robbery not just to see his father working but to show what he learned at the police academy.

"What have you been doing since I was gone?" Eric asked.

"Nothing much." Daniel replied.

"Well, what brings you to LA? Some of your friends actually called and said you were around. You should have stopped by."

"I was busy."

"Daniel, I've been keeping up with you. I know about you joining the police and the reserve." Eric explained. "I didn't get a chance to call you but I've had a lot to manage around here. I got a promotion not that I was actually put to work."

"I know." Daniel said, "Amanda's been keeping me up to date in everything. I came down here because she stopped calling and I got worried."

"You could've called me. Amanda and I were living together. We used the same phone."

"Well, I was going to wait until you called me."

"I was waiting. I didn't want to call you if you were still mad at me."

"For what yelling at me?" Daniel laughed. "Dad we always got into fights. That's just how we are. We almost died. I don't think an argument should have stopped us from visiting or talking with each other."

Eric nodded, "Right. So you forgive me?"

"Of course I do." Eric and Daniel embraced.

A man in suit came out an announced the recess was ending in five minutes. Eric and Daniel let go of each other and walked to the court room. While walking Daniel asked, "Why are you living with Amanda?" A little embarrassed Eric left the question unanswered.

* * *

After the court settled down Amanda was sworn into the stand to make her testimony. The press scrambled to get a shot of Amanda. She had the exact look courtroom photographers looked for in criminals. Depressed and worn out from their stints in jail and lacking apparent remorse for their crimes. To top it off Amanda was still in her jailhouse jumpsuit. Her attorney offered to buy her an appropriate suit but she declined. Amanda wore the jumpsuit as a personal tribute to the victims; she though wearing anything else showed a lack of compassion for those trapped.

Smith eyed the judge than Art with a sly smile. He then turned to Amanda with a straight expression. "Please state your involvement in the alleged crimes."

Amanda leaned forward to the mike. She was quiet as she spoke. "I built devices capable of killing under the guidance of John Kramer. Occasionally, I was put in as a participant in tests. Normally I was just to monitor the subject's behavior and ensure the rules were followed."

"Did you personally design and construct your own traps?"

"I made one trap on my own. The collar found on Lynn Denlon was my own trap." Smith pulled a picture of the shotgun collar and showed it to the jury. He asked Amanda to explain the use of the collar before continuing. "The collar was synchronized with John's heart rate monitor. It was intended to threaten Dr. Denlon to take care of John because if he died she died. When the collar went off seconds late and Agent Strahm was caught in the blast which caused his injuries. That was the only trap I did. John never trained me build my own devices. He didn't like me playing with dangerous things."

Smith collected the photo from the jury. "So if John didn't allow you to construct the devices what role did you play?"

"I was John's caretaker. I provided medication for him and I did my best to learn how his condition would progress so I could prepare him. I didn't want him to die. He's all I had."

"All you had." Smith faced the jury as if he was asking them the question. "If John was all you why didn't you take over for him or better yet take him to a hospital?"

"He didn't let me! I told him I'll do anything to make him more comfortable. I told him he had to go to the hospital but John didn't want that. All he wanted was for me to stay by him and carry on his legacy. As he got weaker he actually got more comfortable with dying. I couldn't stop him." Amanda was halfway between crying and fury. In that moment it became clear to the court that Amanda's relationship with John wasn't as simple as the reports made it sound.

Smith made his last statement directly to the jury. "So in the end all you did was care for and comfort a dying man. That same man forced you to stay by his deathbed but he never wanted you near his traps. He convinced you that you were important to him so you would work for him but it the end he was just using so you would take the fall for him."

"That's not like John." Amanda muttered.

Smith walked to the stand and sympathetically he said. "It's okay to admit it Amanda. John made you a pawn. He brainwashed you and subjected you to this. You did nothing wrong. No further questions your honor."

Jill paid close attention to Amanda as Smith demanded her to call John a cold manipulator. Smith spoke harshly about John and his actions. The unorthodox style in fact drew out more good natured comments from Amanda about John. Amanda talked about how she would past the time with John. He would tell stories about his previous jobs, his life with Jill and even a few from his younger days. Amanda used these stories to deploy John's character. She told Smith of John's protectiveness over her but also about the freedoms she was given. One freedom was the option to leave if she wanted. Jill was struck with grief. All the stories showed John wasn't too different after he became Jigsaw. It made her wish she tried harder to get John to stay. Yet she was comforted knowing he wasn't alone in his final days.

Art sat waiting for Smith to turn over the questioning to him; the sooner, the better. Art was blown away by Smith. His questions were strung together so well that Art couldn't touch any testimony. So far there were few holes or contradictions. During the recess Art learned Smith was trained as a prosecutor. That training made Smith a skilled defense attorney. Not only could Smith make a good defense he knew the right questions to ask so it would be flawless. With those skills it was almost suspicious that Smith was relatively unknown by his peers.

The questioning of Amanda continued after a second recess for lunch. Smith left no stone unturned. Every piece of evidence that turned up in the investigation was questioned. His questions were fueled with harshness that made Amanda break down and cry. But the more she broke the more convincing her statements were. Everyone in the courtroom was appalled and disgusted at the way Smith was talking to his own witness. It was like watching a child getting whipped for stealing. The punishment was necessary but the execution of it was gut wrenching and wrong. Even Art could feel Amanda's anxiety. He was ready to throw his whole case out just to get her to stop crying. Smith ended with a few questions about the Wilson Steel factory before handing the case to Art.

At that point Art wanted to spare Amanda any trauma. Almost luckily Smith tore away at any questions Art would have asked. He was left to look through all the court records to fabricate a cross examination. The judge gave Art two minutes which was enough time for him to find the trial changing piece he was looking for. Art stood from his chair and walked to Amanda. He smiled at her, "I apologize for my colleague's questionable tactics. I would want you to go through that again." He held up a piece of paper. He had one chance to get this right. "Before I begin my cross-examination I would like to read this report from Dr. Ivan Webber, the LAPD's psychologist. It explains the results of Ms. Young's mental competency evaluation. The report states: _Amanda Young has been diagnosed with Borderline personality disorder, Stockholm Syndrome and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. These conditions are certain to affect the credibility of Ms. Young's testimony. The combined effects of these mental disorders led to the creation of a delusion about her life with John Kramer. She remains confident that John Kramer was a harmless man and his crimes were justified. The delusion even extends into Ms. Young's personal life as she believes she is meant to inherit John Kramer's legacy. Through the observations I declare Amanda Young incompetent to stand trial._" Art presented the evaluation to the judge among much conversation in the gallery.

"Mr. Smith approached the bench." The judge turned the microphone away. "Mr. Smith, were you aware of this evaluation?"

"Yes, however, this is not the evaluation submitted for Ms. Young's defense." Smith whispered, "I took it upon myself to have her examined by a better qualified psychologist who diagnosed Ms. Young the same way but believed she was ready to stand trial."

"Mr. Smith as part of Ms. Young's arraignment she was told to be examined by the LAPD's doctor. Even if she was going to be examined by another doctor, that should have crossed my desk first. Do you know what this means?"

"A mistrial, your honor."

"Yes. Return to your desk. This trial is over." The judge turned the microphone back. "Due to the improper introduction of this mandatory report I'm forced to call a mistrial."

Even more exclamations of shock came from the gallery. Cameras focused on the judge, Art, Smith and Amanda. Journalists scribbled the events like mad. The excitement grew beyond the control of the bailiff and the judge. Systematically, the majority of reporters were taken out. Then the civilians were asked to leave. Only the victims and their families were left in the gallery but it was still a large crowd.

As the judge went through the processes of dismissing the jury and explain what had transpired Hoffman kept and eye on Smith. The peculiar lawyer was unruffled by the mistrial. The call normally sent all lawyers into range but Smith had no problem. In fact, Hoffman swore he saw Smith smile. Outside of his mannerisms Smith's style as a defense attorney was outrageous. He directly avoided the court's orders on how to introduce evidence. Hoffman noticed that his questioning brought out more hidden evidence that was signed away by the expired badge number. Lastly Smith came out of no where. Although he was called as the substitute for Amanda's lawyer it was the first time anyone saw him in the courthouse.

"Your Honor," he said, "I have to tell you something about this trial."

"Come here." The judge waved him over. "What is it?"

"That lawyer, Smith, I think there's something odd about him."

"I know he's the only lawyer unaware of court procedures."

"No it's something else. Don't you think it's unusual that he comes out of nowhere and completely overpowers the trial?"

The judge shrugged, "The previous attorney wasn't as good. Sometimes people get replaced to better a trial."

"It's too much of a change. There's no way that man is even a defense attorney. All those questions he asked? It sounded like he wanted Amanda to be found guilty." Hoffman argued.

"Unfortunately, none of that's illegal. So there's nothing-"

"The evidence he introduced was illegal. The forms he showed were signed with the badge number of a deceased detective. Also those pieces were held from public knowledge for a reason. Everything Smith showed today was stolen and confidential police property."

The judge sighed. "Are you sure of this?"

"Yes and there's one more thing need to know."

"More? Smith's guaranteed to get disbarred. What more do you want?"

Hoffman took a breath. He wanted to tell the truth. It was for everyone in that court. For the kids who lost their parents, for the men who lost their wives and the women that lost their husbands; especially for Jill, Amanda and Corbett because they were left with nothing.

"Your honor I'm the Jigsaw Killer. All the murders the twenty-eight mentioned and more they were constructed with my assistance. Amanda didn't do it. I did." The latest twist was met with one last wave of mixed reaction. It was supposed to be an easy in and out but they had spent over fours hours listening to the turning trial. Hoffman ignored the crowd and added, "Amanda's like a sister to me. I wouldn't want her going through this again. Please let me take her place."

The judge was exasperated yet he smiled. "Very clever, Captain but you know I can't do that. After everything that happened today Amanda wasn't going to get a retrial and you can't get one either. There's no evidence in this case that we can use legally thanks to Mr. Smith." The judge shook his head, "I'm dismissing the case. Under my ruling no one is guilty, no one is innocent and the evidence used today cannot be used in any trial with exact or similar charges to this. Now everyone can go home."


	12. Chapter 11 Part Two

**A/N: **Here's Part Two of Chapter 11. This is the finale to the whole thing and I hope you enjoy it. Again thank you for reading.

**Chapter 11**

**Part Two – In Memoriam**

Hoffman spent the day after the trial at home with Michelle. After Corbett left Michelle kept Hoffman company. Hoffman had no idea how empty the house would be after Corbett left. Michelle suggested he start to babysit the neighborhood kids but his recent confession threw that chance away. They also worked on Corbett's room. He knew it was unlikely she would visit but he wanted the room ready just in case. The most recent addition to the room was a dresser. A few days ago Michelle dragged Hoffman to the furniture store. She told him they were just looking but convinced him to buy the dresser.

"This turned out nice." Michelle said. "Corbett will like it."

"If she ever sees it." Hoffman added.

"She will. Corbett adores you. We both know she'll do anything to see you again."

"I thought that was a mental illness. Her uncle probably found out and put her on medication so she would care about me anymore." Hoffman looked around the dresser. He moved it around and heard a faint click. "What was that?"

Michelle pointed out of the room. "I think it was the door."

"Mark! Mark, Where are you?"

"That's Corbett." Hoffman said. He ran out to living room and saw Corbett looking out in the back yard. When Corbett saw Hoffman she ran and jumped into his arms.

Corbett kissed his cheek. "I missed you, Mark."

"I missed you too. I'm sorry I had to send you back to your uncle. I had a lot of work to do."

"Like what?"

Hoffman hesitated. "Your room. I was finishing it. I thought it should be a surprise."

Corbett squirmed out of Hoffman's arms and ran down the hall. "I'm going to look at it. My uncle is outside."

Hoffman expected him to come and was prepared for the ice cold demeanor of Anthony Constantine. In the months that passed it seemed like Anthony had aged by years. His hair and beard were flecked with grey. His face was marred with fatigue, wrinkles and bags under his eyes. He wasn't any nicer and in his gruff voice asked, "Where is she?"

"Corbett just came in a few seconds ago." Hoffman replied.

"She's going to say good bye and leave. Why would I let her stay with you anyways? She runs back here to stay with you and you just send her back after a few months. I guess you got tired of her." Anthony accused.

Hoffman tried to stay calm. "I had important things to do but I did give her a good home. Which begs the question if you didn't want her with me why did you send her back?"

"I didn't. She ran off when I wasn't looking. Now, let me tell you something. Parenting is more then looking after a kid. It's discipline. It took more than a few good hits to get her to drop that soda habit you taught her."

"You hit her?"

"That's discipline. It'll teach her right from wrong. I know what you're thinking right now but at least my methods of teaching don't include killing people."

Hoffman wanted to hit Anthony. He wanted to beat him senseless. The only thing that stopped him was Corbett in the other room. Instead he pulled out the handcuffs he carried in his pocket. "You're under arrest for child abuse and neglect." He slapped his handcuffs on Anthony's wrists.

Corbett came in afterwards lugging Michelle behind her. "What are you doing?"

Hoffman turned to Corbett. "Did your uncle ever hit you?"

"Yeah. Sometimes really hard. When I came back he didn't hug me he yelled at he and slapped me. He didn't let me drink soda either."

"Thank you." Hoffman pushed Anthony out of the door. "Stay there. Corbett, what your uncle did wasn't right so I have to take him to jail. I want you to stay with Michelle until I get back, ok?"

"Ok. Wait a minute." Hoffman started to leave but Corbett caught up with him. She hugged his leg. "I love you."

Hoffman knelt down and hugged her. "I love you, too."

* * *

The Matthews apartment was filled by Eric, Daniel and Rigg. It was only midday but the men found themselves busy for any other time. Eric had to attend mental therapy in the morning and psychical therapy in the afternoon. Daniel was visiting friends later. Rigg was going to help his wife with her work. It was also a favorable time because Amanda wasn't home although no one knew where exactly she went.

Eric raised his glass. "I propose a toast for my son, Daniel, the newest trainee for the LAPD."

Daniel and Rigg raised their glasses. "Just what we needed: another Matthews." Rigg teased.

"I won't get in trouble like dad." Daniel promised, "I'll be the good Matthews. You won't have to be worry about me."

Rigg shook his head. "You're right I won't be worrying about you or you." He pointed to Eric.

"Why's that?"

"I'm retiring." Rigg announced. The room went quiet. "I've thought about it and I can't be in the police force forever. I'll be able to live off the compensation and pension checks for a while. After that I have life savings. Then I'll take up work with Tracy. She's making good money."

Eric slammed his glass on the table. "No! You can't leave! We're supposed to retire together. I have at least five more years before I go."

"SWAT is more demanding then simple detective work. I've seen as much pain and tragedy as I can handle. I've risen to the highest rank I can go before being forced into desk work. My heart's not in it anymore."

Eric stood from the table. "So that's it? You're leaving me behind? Fine, we'll have another toast to your early retirement." Eric raised his glass then drank the rest of his wine.

* * *

The next day was the Official Memorial for the Jigsaw Killings. The entire day was put together to honor the victims and John himself. It started with a string of funerals for the victims whose bodies were recently found. With Amanda and Hoffman's assistance the police cleaned out the sewers, houses and factories were the bodies remained. Most were so decomposed the only way to identify them was by the clothes they were wearing. All the funerals were donations from the city including John's.

More people than expected showed at John's funeral. Primarily because they were already at the cemetery but the other people who arrived respected John for his engineering work, civilian work and even his Jigsaw work which got fugitives of the street. Jill was surprised but also nervous as she was to give the eulogy for John. Luckily she had Amanda who assisted her in the writing and the reading of the eulogy. Jill and Amanda both stepped up to the stand. Jill placed the speech on the pedestal and began reading.

"John was a great man with a great mind. Our marriage didn't last and we never had kids but he will always remain in my heart. As a husband John was protective and a hopeless romantic. As a friend he was kind and a shoulder to cry on. As a leader he was trustworthy and strong. I always felt safe around him. We were perfect together and I'll never forget that. John was an overconfident idealist. It was a double edged sword. Sometimes his ideas helped sometimes they hurt. His idea to create a safe living place for everyone lives on today helping underprivileged citizens. His most well known idea - to change the world's morals - also lives on today." Jill stepped to the side and Amanda took her place.

"I first met John in the hospital after his car accident. He said he heard about my overdose from an orderly and questioned why I did drugs. I couldn't explain it so he started to talk about his plan to make people realize the harm in their actions so they could live a better life. I left John not knowing how important he would be to me. In the two years I knew John he taught me his morals, his beliefs and his rules. I studied them constantly so I wouldn't anger him but I soon learned John was almost impossible to anger. We were like daughter and father. John went out of his way to protect me and to make sure I was happy. Even on his deathbed he tried to comfort me. His acceptance of death made me appreciate life more. I finally understood his message and I know that will make him proud." Amanda and Jill switched once more to finish.

"I didn't know John as the Jigsaw Killer but I did know him as a savior. He taught me what was right and wrong. He showed me to see things in another person's eyes. He taught me to cherish my life and made me promise to do the same. I can say now I will cherish my life as he cherished his."

The funeral ended shortly afterwards. As Jill and Amanda accepted condolences Eric left to another area of the graveyard. He looked through the graves until he found the one he was looking for. When Eric saw the grave he knelt down and moved his fingers along the name: Sergeant Allison Kerry. He placed a rose at the bottom of the stone and bowed his head. "Allison. I miss you. I know we didn't see eye to eye all the time but I did love you. You were so important to me. I risked everything so we could be together. I should've at least listened to you." Eric held back his tears by forcing a smile. "Our whole group's falling apart. Rigg's retiring. You're gone. I'm all alone now. I admit that's what I wanted for a while but now I need you guys. I need you to be here for me somehow."

A hand grabbed Eric's shoulder. Amanda was standing behind him. Eric wiped at his eyes, "What do you want?"

"Everyone's going." Amanda said

"Give me a second."

"Okay. Hey, if you need someone to talk to later. I'm here."

Eric nodded. He looked back at Kerry's gravestone. "She's your answer? Even in death you try to spite me. Thank you. I miss you."

The final event of the memorial service was the opening and dedication of the John Kramer Memorial Housing Project. The crowd was mainly the new inhabitants but some mourners came. After the initial service there was a somber party to celebrate the completion of the project. After moving through the field of investors Art and Jill found time to talk to each other. They sat down at a table far from the crowd.

Art went first. "I'm sorry about the trial I was being self-centered. This case was supposed to be the showpiece of my career. If it makes you feel better I didn't win."

"I know. I was there. John would have wanted me there." Jill said. "You would have had her. What happened?"

"Smith, but he's getting disbarred."

Jill shook her head. "Why didn't you stop Smith then make Amanda confess? I've seen your other cases. That's your trademark."

"I guess she got to me." Art explained. "When she was crying the stand about John, it reminded me about John's dream to have a legacy. I was acting as his friend and protected that. Clearly Mark was thinking the same thing. I wouldn't have gone that far."

"I think everyone at that trial saw that. Amanda doesn't talk like that. All that nonsense about leaving a fulfilling life was from John's mouth. She was the spokesperson that his methods work. We were hanging on to that."

Art agreed. "So are you coming home tonight?"

"Who else is making your dinner?"

Hoffman made it to the party but had to take Corbett because Michelle was watching another child. It was a refreshing sight to see Corbett running around hyped up on sugar again. Anthony was currently being held in the jail and was going to be charged back in Minnesota. Since Lilly wasn't around Hoffman was again Corbett's main caretaker. He didn't want her to go again and while she was running around he got an idea on how to keep her around. He managed to pull her back to him for a second. "Corbett, you like staying here right?"

"Yeah." She replied.

"What about your aunt and uncle's?"

"Aunt Lilly is alright but I don't like Uncle Anthony. Also I have no friends there and everyone keeps asking about my parents."

Hoffman lifted Corbett in his lap. "What would you if I adopted you? So you can stay here."

"You'd do that for me?"

"This is for us." Hoffman said. "It gets lonely here without you."

Corbett threw her arms around Hoffman's neck. "Of course I want to stay here with you. My friend's will be jealous because I'll have the best dad."

Hoffman's heart warmed and he hugged Corbett. "I love you."

"I love you too, daddy."

Eric and Amanda had settled at a table in the corner. They both watched the other people without getting involved. Eric tried to explain everything about Rigg and Daniel to Amanda. She was a good listener but otherwise had no idea how to respond to him. Instead of giving up Eric appreciated her listening and with her help decided to forgive Rigg for his cold sendoff. Later Amanda explained where she had been the past day. "I was looking for an apartment."

"Why?" Eric asked "I thought you were staying with me."

"That was only temporary. I have a job now. I can afford an apartment."

Eric was distraught. "Well, who's going to take care of me?"

"You're getting your brace off tomorrow you won't need me." Amanda said. "I know you were waiting for me to leave anyways."

"I just got used to you. Why are you moving out so soon?"

Amanda smiled. "I'm not moving out now. I'm just looking."

"Oh. Well, take your time." Eric looked around at the room. He saw Art and Jill, Hoffman and Corbett and several more victims. There were also the new inhabitants of the housing project. "Everyone here was brought together by Jigsaw. To think everyone hated him and wanted to for get about him. Now his legacy is going to live on anyway."

"As long everyone learned to live their lives right, I think John will be happy." Amanda then remembered her question for Eric. "What do you know about that lawyer Smith?"

Eric grinned. "He's a friend of mine. I paid him to make sure the case would get thrown out. I falsified the records."

"You did what?"

"I figured I get you out of this mess in the same way I got you into it." Eric confessed.

Amanda blushed. "That's very noble of you. Thankfully we met John or would have never have forgiven you for that." They argued for a few seconds but ended laughing.

The entire memorial ended well. The Veterans of Jigsaw were honored for their survival. Amanda was forgiven by most and seen as a victim by some. Eric was praised for his perseverance while captured. Jill and Art were thanked for continuing John's vision and providing for the unfortunate. With John's message spread all the Veterans could finally rest.


End file.
